Born with Courage (BL warning)
by CommanderWarden
Summary: [Ye be warned!] The human walks in on his attempts to capture the spirit maiden. 'What is this? A creature to toy with'. The demon was pale, and clearly full of himself. 'He's so different from the other monsters I've faced. But I can't back down now, I'll save Zelda no matter what.' First fanfic and the layout is kinda bad. Ghiralink, Lipit, rated M just in case I LOVE REVIEWS!.
1. Chapter 1 - Confrontation

(JUST A QUICK NOTE; This is my first ever fanfiction, the paragraphs did look better when I was writing them but with the way everything went, it looks a bit higglety-pigglety. This story was written between 12-4 am so there may be a few spelling mistake/errors/inconsistencies _please_ ignore them if I ever pick up on them I'll be sure to change them [or I'll be too lazy and it shall forever stay the same 3]

During the story there will also be multiple changes in perspective. If you see a series of dots, dashes and underscores, that means it's a perspective change. [it'll look a lil' somethin' like this - ' . ._' or '_.-.' along those lines]

ALSO; just letting you know that a few things have changed, very small, and I feel the need to tell you these things specifically because I've given Link a voice, Ghirahim can turn invisible, and a few other things aren't going to be like the original story-line [I'm totally not being vague about what has changed just in case I get any of the facts wrong and need to cover it up by simply saying 'I changed a few things' I don't know what you're talking about, get that idea out of your head -cough-]

ALSO, also; this story may be very slow on the uploading/updating speed so if there's no other chapters for a while it's because I've been busy or... haven't been arsed to upload 3. THANK YOU for reading my little ramble here and for reading my (probably very bad) _long_ ramble some like to refer to as fanfiction.)

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ghirahim pounded his fist against the glowing door.  
"That accursed girl... How _dare_ she run from me! _me_! This was all supposed to be so easy!"  
He let out a long exasperated sigh, flicking his gloriously styled fringe to the side.  
"Now what..? The blasted servant of the goddess took her from me... I'll have to track where she's going. The bokoblins should be able to track her for me."  
He turned on his heel and leaned on the door, reaching up and playing with his beautiful diamond earring. "Though they're not exactly smart enough to do that..."  
Ghirahim turned back around and started studying the door. Looking high and low for an opening or a weak spot he could use to bash it in, when-

CRREeeAaaaK

The door to the large room he was in, made a low, loud moan as it was pushed open.  
Ghirahim, always one for surprises, made himself invisible to the naked eye and studied the figure as it walked into the room.

. ._

Link coughed and grunted as he heaved the heavy door open. If this was the way Zelda came, she was obviously far stronger than he thought.  
He waved his hand around in front of him in an effort to clear the dust, which inevitably failed.  
"Whoa" walking through and clear of the dust, link looked around the room.

It was a large circular room that seemed more like the sparring hall back on skyloft than any other room he had been in thus far. With what seemed to be a glowing doorway at the other side. Link felt the familiar warmth of Fii on his back before she flipped out of his sword.  
"Master Link, there is a 97% possibility that the human, Zelda, is behind this door. However, there is another presence in this room. I would advise caution while you decide how to proceed" and with that she faded back into the sword.

Link drew his sword. While Fii's constant presence was a little off-putting at times, she was very useful when it came to enemies.  
He studied the door, running his hand over it. There were small particles of dust falling from where he had placed his fingers, and spots where the dust had previously been knocked off.

Fii was right; someone did open this door before. It must have been Zelda.  
But there were multiple other patches where the caked-on dust had been removed. One being much larger than Zelda's hand could have been.  
He decided to explore the rest of the room, perhaps there was a switch of some sort to get it open. Or maybe there was one in the previous room.  
Link walked stead-fast toward the doors he had come through, stopping immediately, however, when they were slammed shut in front of him.  
He stood there shocked and blinked at the door for a few moments before running up and pushing on the door, to no avail. The door would not budge.

He was trapped.

Link's heart began to race at that realization and he gripped his sword tighter.  
A low, menacing chuckle could be heard from the other side of the room. Link turned to lock eyes with the one who had ensnared him in this trap.

. ._

Ghirahim pressed himself against the wall to hide (even though he was already invisible). He watched on as a figure emerged through the doors and the dust.  
Clad in green, the human coughed as he inhaled the dust.  
it was like the girl. Smaller than Ghirahim, and clearly weaker, obviously.  
The human started walking towards the door he was near, and Ghirahim moved slightly out of the way. It had obviously not noticed him.  
'A fool... walking so confidently into an unknown room. There could be any amount of dangerous creature in here. And there is...'.'  
Ghirahim slid around the human, keeping his distance, and headed toward the door. 'They're so puny. Why would anyone want something so small?'  
Standing now at the other side of the room, Ghirahim took it upon himself to study the creature.  
It was wearing such a clunky-looking outfit. Definitely not good for flexibility. Defence had to be it's only purpose. Meaning the humans are weaklings.  
Atop It's head, more green. 'Why green? Must be a defence mechanism. Perhaps this kind of human needs to hide in the grass from time to time like a kikwi'  
Then he noticed the golden locks of hair peeking out from behind the hat.

Golden, like the sun. Unlike his own, a pale moonlight silver.  
Searching lower, he saw the tanned skin the human flaunted. Sun kissed. Like it's hair.  
In fact, most everything about this creature seemed like the sun. It was bright and seemed to show something special, even if Ghirahim couldn't quite pick what it was. If Ghirahim wasn't sure it was the sunlight reflecting off the dust particles, he'd even say the human glowed a little.

'Infuriating...' Ghirahim pondered why he thought this creature looked to be in excellent form. He decided it was because the human wanted to make everyone around him jealous.

That annoyed him.

Ghirahim watched as a spirit leapt from the sword and spoke to the creature. 'No... It can't be. This little thing is the chosen hero? HAH! This should prove to be entertaining'. Ghirahim grimaced as he couldn't hear the words for the hushed tones she was using. He overheard "Zelda" and "I advise caution" and that was all.

'I advise caution for you too, hero.'

Ghirahim leapt up and slammed the doors shut as the smaller creature came marching towards them. He smirked and teleported to the other side of the room, revealed himself and watched on as the miniscule hero tried to open the door. No such luck.

He chuckled when the human gave up with a huff. The human turned around and took a fighting stance when he locked eyes-

'Such clear blue eyes...' the cerulean blue of that piercing stare made Ghirahim pause momentarily. Regaining his composure, he spoke to the creature. "Look who it is... I thought that tornado I stirred up would have tossed and torn you apart." He broke his gaze from the human to look at the door again. "Not that your life or death has any consequence"

. ._

Link looked over the tall man before him.  
He was pale, almost too pale. And skinny. He had long arms and legs covered in a thin fabric that stretched all over his body (and didn't leave much to the imagination), hidden only by a large red cape. He had started speaking, but link was too busy taking in the man's appearance.  
'Why does everything he have, have diamonds on it? Dig diamond earring, diamond holes in the cloth.. How strange..'

"It's just the girl that matters now and I can sense her here, just beyond this door." The man continued, seeming to speak to himself more than Link, "Yes, we plucked her majesty from her perch in the clouds, and now she's ours"  
Link snapped out of his rambling thoughts when the demon mentioned something about "her majesty" being near. 'He must mean Zelda'.

"Oh but listen to me rambling, I'm being positively uncivil! Allow me to introduce myself."  
He continued, flipping his hair out of his face. "I am the demon lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this world you call the surface. You may call me Ghirahim"  
'He sure does like the sound of his own voice' Link thought to himself.  
"In truth, I very much prefer to be indulged with my full title; Lord Ghirahim. But I'm not fussy" Link glared at the Demon, narrowing his stare and taking a wider stance. "You've had your sword drawn for a while now... are you that cocky? Foolish thing" The demon lord turned and spread his arms wide, exaggerating his position of power. "By all rights, the girl should have fallen into our hands already." He curled his fingers into twitching fists as he fumed "she was nearly ours, until that loathsome servant of the goddess snatched her away" hunched over, he continued his rant.

Link felt a power coming from him that made him slightly uneasy. "Do you have any idea how that made me feel?!" Ghirahim threw his arms about dramatically "Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!" The room seemed to shake slightly as the demon grew angrier. Before he vanished.

Link blinked and looked around for him. "This turn of events has left me with a strong appetite for bloodshed". Link looked around everywhere, he had disappeared, where was he?!

Then he felt a presence creep up behind him too slowly and had a curtain of moonlit locks, strewn over his shoulder, as the demon lord whispered into his ear.  
"Still.." the Demon lord started, "It hardly seems fair, being of my position, to take all of my anger out on you. Which is why I promise up front not to murder you.."  
The ice-cold threats accompanied by that velvety smooth voice was enough to make Link freeze in place, unsure what to do. He simply stared wide-eyed at the demon, mouth agape.

"No, I'll just beat you within an inch of your life!" An ungoddessly long tongue slipped out of his mouth, and that was enough to make Link leap away from the man.  
The demon laughed, quietly at first, at link's eagerness to get away. Before it erupted into maniacal laughter. The demon spread his arms and cackled as his cape faded away, revealing his diamond-encrusted outfit.

'Even his flippin' belt has a diamond on it.. What a show off'

. ._

Ghirahim was positively tickled-pink by the way the creature reacted to him. Its face stayed Stoney as he spoke, but the way his fists shook slightly and the battle-stance he had taken, said it all. This was too fun.

He disappeared, breaking that glare that was trained on him. 'This is what I wanted. To be able to scare it out of its wits!'.

He re-appeared behind the green-clad hero and whispered sweet threats into it's ear. The smell of the human, so foreign, captivated him for a second. He wanted to figure out what the smell was. But Ghirahim was too amused by the look of horror painted across the human's fine features. He wanted to see more.  
He flung his tongue at the hero, causing it to jump away from him. 'This is going to be so much fun'. Ghirahim cast his arms out wide, revealing the rest of his gloriously beautiful body.

The creature seemed stunned. 'So it should be. I mean.. look at me'.

. ._

Link lunged for the strange man. The slice was interrupted, however, when the demon lord took hold of the blade mid-swing. Link gasped and tried to yank the sword away, only to have it stay in one place. A dark sword, appeared in Ghirahim's other hand and came crashing down on Link. Remembering his shield, Link blocked the fierce attack and rolled out of the way, discarding his sword. 'Crap!'.

Ghirahim laughed and shook his head. "Give me a little more competition than that, hero" he threw the sword at Link and it landed in front of him with a clank. Link looked puzzled at the sword then at Ghirahim, who stretched his hand out and curled his finger in a 'come here' gesture. Link growled and picked up his sword before edging closer to the demon.  
'What an arrogant bastard! What kind of enemy is he? Anyone in their right mind would have jumped at an opportunity to be rid of their defenceless enemy. Unless..'  
A few more swings and failed hits, the clanking of sword against the tiled floor and Link was thrown to his back again and again.

'He's toying with me..'

Link sat up and glared at the demon. Ghirahim laughed and held his stomach. "Oh you're doing well hero! Come, try again!" Ghirahim stretched a pointed toe towards him a bowed oh so fancily. The way he moved was like that of a ballerina. Fairly graceful. If over dramatic.  
'That's it. Time to switch tactics'  
The sword was tossed at him again. Only to be stepped over.

Ghirahim tilted his head slightly, and a look of confusion spread across his usually smug face.  
Link walked right up to him, dropped his shield and stood with-in arms reach of him.  
"Wha-" Ghirahim started to speak, but was interrupted by a mean right hook to the underside of his jaw, sending him backwards.  
Link smiled and shook the pain of the punch from his fist. 'Finally..' making contact (in the form of a good punch) with that bastard felt good.

Ghirahim rolled over onto all fours and starred at the ground, stunned. He tenderly touched his face. "How.. Dare.. You.." he whispered. Link would have leaned in to try to hear what he said, but Ghirahim's sword appeared again and he quickly swung it around in a low and powerful swoop. Link back flipped towards his shield, narrowly missing the tip.

He fumbled and snatched up his shield, blocking the next attack of the sword being flung towards him. Link was knocked back slightly, but not off his feet. He ran for the sword, blocking the barrage of swords and daggers that were now being hurled at him. One just making it, leaving a light slice on his arm.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" The demon yelled. "..My beautiful face" Ghirahim tenderly traced his fingers over where he was hit again.

'Get over it' Link thought to himself. Ghirahim threw both of his arms to his side, calling two new swords in either hand. The demon lord gave Link a death stare that sent shivers up his spine.

Ghirahim charged at Link, swords raised, and sent the blades down on him with monstrous force. The shield Link had brought up cracked beneath them. Link gasped. Quickly seeing the opportunity, swung out his sword under the shield. The blade sliced across Ghirahim's abdomen. The demon let out a shout when the blade made contact. Link jumped at the slightest waver of Ghirahim's strength and landed blow upon blow on Ghirahim's chest, abdomen and legs.  
The demon lord let out a mighty roar and reached behind the shield, too quick for link to escape from. The demon gripped Link around the throat and lifted him above his head. He began to squeeze.

Link gasped as he felt the fingers around the throat and kicked the air as he was lifted up. The grip on his throat tightening, he couldn't breathe.  
"I'll crush you, you worthless-" Ghirahim paused and dropped Link to the ground. He turned towards the door. "She's gone..." he whispered.  
Link grabbed at his throat and gasped for air as he crawled towards his shield.

. ._

Ghirahim was fuming. That pathetic little thing managed to cause a lot of damage. He felt the sting of where the sword had hit him, and the lingering pain from the punch nagged at him. However, the presence of the goddess' reincarnation had faded completely, and he couldn't waste more time with this creature.

He looked down at it, crawling toward its equipment.  
'It's still trying... even after that? Why?' Ghirahim stepped to where it was crawling and placed his foot over its hand. "What do you think you're doing, human?"  
The creature grunted and scratched at his foot. Ghirahim made a 'tch' sound and put all his weight on the hero's hand, making it yelp out in pain. Ghirahim smiled 'so weak..'.

He was about to call for another blade, when he found his foot being lifted up. "Wha-WHA?!" Ghirahim was tossed backwards and human grunted as it stood and hunched over, holding its hand. His head hit the floor hard, and he blinked in shock, before clambering up to his feet and staring at the creature.

The human stood back in a battle stance, puffing and trying to shake the pain out of its (probably broken) hand. Bright red blood dripped down its arm where one of the many daggers that had been thrown at it had cut it. Even though it was clearly in pain, those eyes still showed no sign of fear. No sign that the hero would back down.

"What are you.." Ghirahim accidently said out loud.  
"My _name_ is Link. And I'm here to save my friend." Link rolled his shoulders and stood proud. "You may be powerful, whatever-your-name-is, but you're not going to stop me" Ghirahim looked straight at the hero. 'Link..'

The creature was unlike any he'd encountered before. He couldn't figure out what it was that made this human want to keep fighting. Whatever it was, it was something Ghirahim wanted. The power this tiny thing had inside him could be useful. Whether the goddess had bestowed some sort of ability on it or if it took some sort of performance-enhancing drug, Ghirahim wanted to find out what it was.

"Link huh?" Ghirahim stood up straight, regaining his height over the human  
"Yes" Link stood straighter, but it didn't do much.  
"..What a stupid name" Ghirahim insulted. Link stammered and took a step back, obviously not expecting a petty insult from the so-called demon lord.  
"Listen to me, Link. Your 'friend' is ours. Give up and go back to your mother, child." With that, Ghirahim turned and, before he teleported away, glanced back at the creature of light again.

"I will have your power.." and disappeared.

. ._

Link was left alone in an empty room. The menacing demon seemingly gone.  
He cautiously stepped forward. "Fii is he still here?" he asked his companion. She flipped out of his sword and hovered gracefully in front of him.  
"There is only a 17% possibility that the demon lord Ghirahim is still in the vicinity." she answered. Link sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Don't call him that, just say Ghirahim. We're not going to start to show courtesy to monsters".  
"Yes, master Link" and with that she faded back into his sword.

Link fastened his gear to his back again and headed to the door. Eager to find clues of where his friend had gone to.


	2. Chapter 2 - It's hot inside

Ghirahim landed in a volcanic land, way to hot and muggy for his liking, knowing that the goddess would come through here next. He made his way up the mountain looking for the temple, cutting through a few keese as he went.  
When he had finally made his way up, Ghirahim teleported a few bokoblins to him. The ugly little creatures fumbled over each other and looked around, 'obviously were not expecting to be teleported yet'. Ghirahim smacked one of them over the head and they turned around. One saw him, exclaimed and dropped to their knees. "I want you all to block any entrance to this temple. If a human adorning green clothes with golden hair comes through here, you are to do everything you can to capture him. Understood?" The small creatures looked at each other and nodded. "Now remember I said _capture_ not _kill_, got it? I want him alive!"  
They little things saluted and spread out over the lava-covered landscape.

"Good.."

Ghirahim watched them go and then turn his attention towards the temple. 'The 'hero' had referred to the goddess as "Zelda" and it called her "Friend". What are they to each other? I may be able to use Zelda to get Link's power.. Whatever it is.' He folded his arms and looked at the giant door to the temple. "She's definitely in there" He glanced back over his shoulder to check if the moblins and bokoblins were keeping a look out, before teleporting into the temple.

. ._

Zelda ran through the temple, the sheikah battling the monsters away from her. "You must hurry your majesty!" she cried. "I AM!" Zelda leapt over rocks and leant a few hits to monsters to the shiekah when needed. Impa had to scoop her up in her arms a few times to avoid dangers, but Zelda tried to lend a hand every now and then. When they finally reached what seemed to be a safe area, they both hunched over and panted (Impa recovering a lot faster than Zelda). Zelda wiped the sweat from her brow and started again towards the next room when suddenly, in a mass of white and fluttering diamonds, Zelda was scooped up by a creature and teleported away.

Impa stood there slack-jawed and stunned for a few moments. She curled her hands into fists and let out a loud exasperated scream. Alerting some monsters to her the new danger, she decided she could still save her majesty by finding Link and getting him to hurry up. She ran past the creatures, jumping and stepping over their heads as she went by, on her way back where she came.

. ._

Zelda covered her eyes and curled up into a tight ball. She was held close to someone and couldn't move. As the thing that took her finally came to a stop, she cracked her eyes open and looked up at the pale man holding her. She widened her eyes and shoved herself out of his arms to the floor. In an effort to get away, she picked up the bottom of her dress and tried to run for it. But the diamond-clad man quickly clamped a chain around her feet.  
Zelda pulled at the chain and tried to yank it out of the ground where it was nailed in, with no success. She screamed and threw anything she could get her hands on at him. He simply rolled his eyes and swatted the rocks away from himself.

"Stop, you accursed little thing."

Zelda stopped. Shocked that the creature could talk. None of the other monsters she encountered had spoken. Then again, this one seemed to be a man, not a monster. "What do you want with me" she raised another rock threateningly.  
"To bring my master back to the world of the living." he said plainly.  
Zelda blinked, "how?" she asked. He sat in front of her and stared directly into her eyes, which made her uneasy. "How about this.. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine" he offered. Zelda paused and looked at the rock, then at the shackle around her ankle. 'No way I'm getting out of here' she thought and decided to agree to the questioning. She nodded.

"Excellent" he clapped his hands. "My first question, because I've already answered one of yours is; what is 'Link'?" he leaned forward.  
Zelda's eyes opened wide "Link..?" she asked, shocked that he knew her best friend's name."Yes that's what I said. The human that wears green and has hair like the Sun." he continued as though the fact that he knew Link was nothing out of the ordinary.  
"He's the chosen hero. Or so Impa tells me" she answered.  
"But it is human, right? it's no weird creature that just looks like a human?". Zelda shook her head, a confused and 'weirded-out' expression on her face. "_he_ is a human like me".

"I see.. Can't be that then.." the creature scratched his face and looked up towards the roof, pondering something. "So what is it that Link-"  
"AP!" Zelda raised her finger to silence him. "It's my turn, remember?". The creature's face grew dark and he growled, but then he sighed and flicked out his hand, gesturing for her to continue.

"What is your name?" she asked, looking over his shoulder for anything she could use to escape.  
"I am the demon lord Ghirahim." he said while brushing off some non-existent dirt on his shoulder. 'Demon lord.. Oh goddess' she thought to herself. She wiped the sweat from her brow.  
"Okay, me again. Do you know of something that would make someone not want to back down from a fight? Something that would give someone confidence in battle?" he leaned closer to her again. He seemed like an eager child back on skyloft, learning about loftwings for the first time. It would have been amusing, had he not also been terrifying. "The only thing I could think of would be courage" she answered, resting her head in her hand as she leant on her knees. Sitting cross-legged seemed to be harder than usual with a shackle around your ankle.

"Courage? Is that a power the goddess can bestow?". Zelda blinked and stared at him blankly. "You don't know what courage is?"  
"No" he answered plainly, expecting her to explain it in great detail.

"Uh.. Courage.. It's a feeling you get. Uh.. When you have to.. Do something? I'm not sure how to explain. It's like, even if there are impossible odds, you'll face them. It's facing your fears. Uh.. It's like.. Even if you don't know if you'll survive, if you have something worth fighting for, you won't give up." Zelda tried her best to explain. But she guessed the demon didn't know much about human emotions and it felt like explaining colour to a blind man.  
"I see. It sounds like a mighty power.. I knew there was something.." He stared off to the side. "How do I acquire courage?" he asked.  
"w-well you have to be born with it" Zelda got a bit annoyed that he continued to forget her turns to ask the questions.  
"Born with it? So it is a gift from your goddess"  
"No! It's.. Ugh! It's really hard to explain. You just have it or you don't. Some people are courageous and would put their life on the line for others. While other people would rather hide and stay cowering off to the side."

"So you can't-". Zelda raised her hand again to stop him from talking. "You keep forgetting my turn." she said, irritated.  
Ghirahim folded his arms and tilted his head back, foot tapping on the ground. He sighed and flicked his hand out again, letting her speak.  
"How do you know Link?" she asked, a darkness creeping into the back of her sky-blue eyes.  
He looked at her and smirked. "Oh.. I've.. Made his acquaintance" he smoothly stood and brushed off the bottom of his suit. "That's not answering my question!" she demanded. "Yes, well I'm tired of this game. You're not telling me how I can get this 'courage' thing from the so-called hero, so I don't want to put up with you anymore." He waved his arms up in an exaggerated shrug.

Ghirahim looked down at the girl. She seemed to be turning red with anger at him. She was about to open her mouth again to speak, when He flicked his hand at her. He moved to undo the shackles, when he felt another presence in the temple. "No.." He glanced around the chamber they were in. It was surrounded by lava, and the entrance was locked. The girl was also chained to the ground. No way was she escaping.  
"How did he get past them all..?" he wondered out loud. Zelda grabbed at the chains and pulled. "I'll be back.. Hmh, not that you can go anywhere" he chuckled menacingly and teleported away in a flurry of diamonds, leaving Zelda to figure out her predicament.

-.._-

'An annoying creature... her voice did nothing but irritate me. She did give me some information on the little hero though. Link has something called courage.. And Link is also a male.. I suppose he did seem larger than Zelda.. As is typical with most species.. Unless it's skulltulas..' Ghirahim continued to ramble to himself as he searched through the temple for Link.

Everywhere he went, all he saw were open chests and corpses of the monsters of this temple strewn about. It was strange to see. Even Ghirahim didn't fight the creatures. 'Although without teleportation abilities it seems like it would be hard to escape quickly'.  
Ghirahim's long slender legs stepped over each obstacle with grace the further he went. "It's too hot in this damned hole." He rounded a corner and there he saw him, retrieving a key from the master chest. The key to the room Zelda is in.  
'How did he get through so quickly?!' Ghirahim cursed under his breath as he watched Link smile at the key. An expression he'd never seen on his face before. He liked it. Ghirahim covered his mouth and stared at the boy in fascination. The light from the lava illuminated the whole place, but where ever Link stepped, it seemed brighter.

The demon lord grimaced when he realised Link was almost to Zelda. He teleported back to where he left her.. Only to find her gone.  
"..wh-" He stammered. He flicked his head around, searching everywhere. She was long gone.  
"That BLASTED servant of the goddess has taken her AGAIN!" Ghirahim bit into his finger and growled (both from anger and from the pain of how hard he was biting himself).

He was about to go on a murderous rampage when he heard Link coming in. He teleported out of sight and watched him.

_- . .

Link ran in through the door, making sure no other booby-traps would surprise him. He hunched over and puffed, wiping the sweat from his brow.  
"Zelda better be in here.." he groaned.

Searching through the temple, Link sustained a few serious burns from where he lost his footing and made contact with the less-than-forgiving lava. He shuddered remembering the pain.  
Standing up straight, he looked around 'where to next?'.  
Link walked forward and noticed some broken shackles lying on the ground. He bent down and held them. 'They've been busted open..? Was Zelda here? No way she could have busted this open herself.'  
The familiar warmth of his back returned and Fii emerged again. Master, There is a 95% probability that Zelda was held here for a brief moment in time". Link nodded.  
"Fii, dowse the area as we go along. She can't be far away now." He dropped the chains and was about to continue up the slope, when he heard an all-too-familiar chuckle resonate around the room.

'You again', looking up, he saw the demon lord perched on top of a large ornate dragon head near the ceiling. He glared at him and drew his sword.

"Oh it's you.." he huffed, "let me see.. No that's not it. This is so very embarrassing but I seem to be at a loss for your name. Not that it matters really. To tell you the truth, I'm feeling a bit frustrated, and right now I need someone to vent to." He flipped his hair and pointed at Link.  
"After capturing the spirit maiden, I got excited, flustered even. What can I say? I'm a child at heart. However.. As soon as I sense another.. Presence in the temple" he glared knowingly at link and threw his hand to the side. "As soon as leave… not more than a few minutes later.. That servant of the goddess.. You see what I'm trying to say is.." his face went dark, and he seemed to be twitching.

"THAT GODDESS-SERVING DOG ESCAPED WITH THE GIRL!" he yelled and threw his arms out to the side.  
"I MUST have the spirit maiden to resurrect my master! I MUST HAVE HER!" He continued. Link continued to glare at the demon, who seemed to be slowly losing what little sanity he had. 'Why does he always feel the need to explain every detail to me.. Or is it just that I'm here..? Yeah.. He could probably rant on to a rock if you drew a face on it'.

"…I got a bit carried away there didn't I? I don't deal well with.. Complications to plans I've laid out so carefully. It's a character flaw of mine." He placed a hand to his chest in an attempt to compose himself.  
"Ah, but something good can come from seeing you! This bottled up anger I have had in me can be released! There's someone I'd like you to meet! Oh don't be shy" he chuckled to himself. "I've had so much anger pent up inside of me and your agony is such a stress reliever!" He leaned forwards as he continued, "It won't take more than a few seconds with my friend before you're charred to a crisp! And let me tell you that will put a spring in my step!" and with that, in a flurry of diamonds, he vanished.

Link starred at where he was, confused. But the moment of confusion didn't last long,.

A horrible feeling crept through Link as he the ground began to rumble. More and more, the earth shook, causing Link to stumble. He frantically looked all around before he saw a giant boulder headed straight for him. Leaping out of the way, he prepared for whatever foe Ghirahim had decided to throw at him.

. .

Ghirahim appeared outside the temple and felt the warm (but considerably cooler than inside the temple) air grace his skin. He chuckled to himself.  
"If there's no way to get the courage from him while he's alive, then I'll pry it from his writhing corpse!" Ghirahim threw his arms out to the side and let out a roar of maniacal laughter.

Every moment he spent planning his inevitable climb to power had the blood racing through his veins and he loved it! The thought that soon the goddess' chosen hero would be dead and gone, leaving no-one other than the servant of the goddess to protect her made him want to jump with glee. Ghirahim ran his finger down the side of his beautiful porcelain cheek and sighed with a smile.

Everything according to plan.


	3. Chapter 3 - What are you?

Link landed on the cold hard ground in sky loft with a thud. The smooth, clean(ish), familiar feeling of his home bringing a warm smile to his lips.  
"I.. am not.. Moving" he sighed.

Link lay sprawled out on the cool ground just outside the bazaar. Normally, if anyone else had done this, it would have been questioned. But Link had always been an odd one. And while he did receive the occasional glance or shake of a head with a chuckle, he assured himself that he would not move for the remainder of the afternoon no matter how many strange looks he got.

"Link.. You okay there buddy?"  
Link cracked his eye open slightly to see Fledge towering over him. The rosy-cheeked, shy young man shifted as he looked around, clearly checking to see if anyone else had noticed Link. "You know, you probably shouldn't lay there. y-you might get stepped on or something"  
Link chuckled and sat up. "Fledge, do you want to go for a swim with me? I have a while before I want to re-supply and head off again" Link stood, stretching his arms out to the side as he went.

"A swim? It's a little chilly isn't it?" Fledge looked confused, all be it amused, at his friend.  
"Fledge if you'd just been to the hottest place you could think of, what would be the first thing you'd do?"  
"Uh... b-bring sun block?"  
"The second thing" Link chuckled.

Fledge looked towards the small river that split through the town. The last time it was an unbelievably hot day in skyloft, all he wanted to do was swim. But because of classes and chores, he couldn't.  
"I'd swim to my heart's content!" he answered with a firm nod. Link gave him a clap on the back and grinned widely at him. "I'll race you there then!". Fledge nodded and ran off towards the river. Link smiled at his friend. 'I'll only stay for a little while.. But for right now.. I want to spend time being me again.'  
Link raced over to Fledge where they joked, swam, and had fun all afternoon. Link could enjoy this simple pleasantry a lot more now than he would have before his mission. And taking it for granted was something he swore he'd never do again.

.. -_ . .

Ghirahim paced back and forth biting down on his finger. 'How.. HOW?!..' He stopped and looked at the body of Scaldra, before he started pacing again. "I don't understand.. How does he keep doing it?! WHAT IS IT THAT HE'S DOING?!" He summoned up a large amount of daggers and flung them everywhere. At the walls, the roof, the floor, at the monsters of the temple, _everywhere_!  
He continued to rampage through the temple, killing the monsters that had crawled their way in there after the last lot were killed by Link. Until- "Hmm?" Ghirahim tilted his head and looked at the object on the floor. He daintily picked it up in his long, slender fingers and shifted it through them.

There had been a slice of green fabric on the ground. A live, foresty colour that could only belong to one person. Ghirahim grinned. 'A monster injured him' looking around he saw little rings of metal that were once attached to Link's chainmail. 'Cut through that armour.. I see.. Not that protective after all'. Noticing a small stain of blood on the ground, he smiled. "What am I doing? Thinking he's immortal or something. While he may be strong, he's still just a human. And can be defeated!" Ghirahim scrunched up the fabric and shoved it inside his suit, before walking lazily out of the temple.

_-._ . .

Link swore he felt his brain fly out the back of his skull as he was slammed into the wall of the temple of time. He groaned and scrunched his eyes shut as he was scraped up the wall. The demon lord pushed all of his strength against his aching body and growled low and menacing. "You.." he spoke through his teeth, his rage clearly shown across his somewhat delicate features.  
In what seemed to be an eternity, Link's body was scraped up again before continuing off the wall and being flung backwards, over Ghirahim's head. Landing with a loud WHACK on the ground. "HOW _DARE_ YOU INTERFERE!" Ghirahim screamed at him, and started pacing back and forth as Link lay there, trying to get up.

"So close.. So CLOSE!" Ghirahim kicked a piece of the rubble away and glanced over at the destroyed gate of time. Fuming, he marched over to Link and stood a foot on his chest, causing him to exclaim in distress. "You.. You.. _CREATURE_! I.. I'll kill you! I'LL-" Ghirahim kneeled over the boy and gripped what was left of Link's clothing. "No.. I won't kill you.. That's too good for the likes of you. What I _will_ do is-" He leaned in close to Link's ear. Link felt the cool curtain of moonlit hair lay down on his cheek. "I will make you suffer so badly, that you will deafen yourself with the sound of your own screams". Ghirahim laughed quietly, lingering all-too-long on top of Link.  
"Get off me.. Demon!" Link grunted as he tried to force Ghirahim off him with what little strength he had. Ghirahim laughed and grabbed onto Link's hands, crushing them under his. Link yelped and tried to pull his hands away. The demon lord slammed his hands above his head, causing him to grunt in pain again.  
"You don't tell me what to do, you pathetic waste of life. Not now.. Not ever.." Link opened his eyes and shot Ghirahim the most defiant glare he could muster as he continued to yank at his hands.  
Ghirahim almost lost grip as Link continued to struggle. 'He's still too strong.. But that won't last long..' Ghirahim drove his knee into Link's thigh, laying all his weight onto the bone. Link groaned, but still struggled. The demon was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a grip on the boy. "Keep still! Give up and accept your fate, boy!" Ghirahim was about to reposition himself when a forceful CRACK emanated from his head. He stared wide-eyed at the boy who had tried to headbutt him. Link scrunched his eyes up again. And let out a soft 'ouch..' a single painful tear escaping the side of his eye.

Ghirahim was much more durable than the human. And that headbutt was most likely more painful for him than for Ghirahim at all. The demon continued to stare at link, finding his grip again. He watched as the drop of water fled from his eye down his cheek.  
Fascinated, Ghirahim leaned in and eyed the tear as it made its slowing decent. Link looked at him with utter confusion. In the length of a second, without thinking about it, Ghirahim slipped out his long tongue and licked up the tear. Tasting the salty-sweetness of it.

Link stared sideways at him, mouth agape. He'd stopped moving now, so surprised at this sudden intimate action that he dare not move.

Ghirahim continued to lay flat on top of link. Contemplating what had just happened. He moved his face close to Link's neck and breathed in that scent. 'What is that scent?' How could he not know it and yet, have it feel so familiar. Not knowing irritated him and he stayed there for a few moments, hoping it would come to him. Until he realized what he was doing and sprung up, abandoning his hold on the boy. "Y-you.." Ghirahim regained his footing and looked at his hands. "What are you.." he trailed off.  
Link, realizing his sudden freedom, reached into his pocket for a potion and downed it quickly. The familiar bitter-sweet taste of the red liquid began its job to mend and heal Link's bruises and cuts. He climbed to his feet and leant on his knees, feeling the potion working it's magic.

Ghirahim looked up at that piercing cerulean glare he'd come to know all too well and took a step back.  
Link watched in utter confusion as his enemy backed away from him. After everything that he'd done to him... was he retreating?

"This is not over, Human!" With a flick of his hands and a sharp click, Ghirahim disappeared in a flurry of diamonds, leaving Link alone to contemplate his next move. 'I don't.. What.. What just happened? Did I win?" Link scratched the back of his head and shrugged. 'I have to go ask the old lady where to go next..'. Link walked off and put his hand to his chest, remembering the weight of the demon and the weird affection he seemed to display. He moved his hand and rubbed his cheek 'why did he lick me? Is everyone on the surface insane?' He sighed and continued on.

. ._

Ghirahim found himself in the Ancient Cistern. He hadn't really planned out where he wanted to go, all he knew is that he wanted to get away from Link. 'What's happening to me.. How am I so afraid of that little whelp?' Ghirahim smashed his fist into a column, causing it to crumble. 'I am strong. If anything, I'm clearly stronger than Link! So why does he-' Ghirahim glanced over at the guardian of the Temple. "Koloktos.." he spoke. The ancient machine started to beam, obviously noticing Ghirahim's presence. "You are a force to be reckoned with.. You may be able to destroy him.. Once and for all.." Ghirahim traced his fingers over his perfectly sculptured chin. The huge menacing machine came to life and readied itself for battle.

Ghirahim watched on, "ah yes.. You're supposed to attack evil creatures.." Ghirahim leaped out of the way of the giant blade, Koloktos had sent crashing down on him. "I'll have to fix that"

. ._

"He follows you?" Pipit asked as he leant forward. Link sighed, shrugged and splashed the water around with his feet.  
Returning for another replenishment of equipment, Link had run into a very irritated and demanding Pipit. After standing through 10-15 minutes of a lecture about 'why he should always tell his senior when and where he was going every time he embarked on an adventure outside the safe and guarded territory of the sky-loft knights so Pipit could make sure he left protected and a blah-di-blah-blah', Link made a deal to sit down and tell Pipit the whole story.

"He just appears everywhere I go and seems intent on ruining my life. Not to mention I always leave battered and bruised every time I come across him.." Link grimaced at their last encounter and rolled his shoulder.  
Pipit's jaw dropped and he stared at Link, "battered and bruised?!" Link mentally slapped himself. 'Why did I say that?' He heaved a long sigh. "What the heck are you doing out there, Link?! How often have you been hurt? How badly? Is that why Luv's been making so much more potions these days? Have you been-" Link covered his hand over Pipit's mouth.  
"Pipit, I'm fine! Look at me! I used to get beaten up all the time by Groose!". Pipit took hold of Links hand and pulled it away from his mouth, "you know that the only reason you ever got beat up here was because YOU egged Groose on AND the worst thing you ever got was a punch to the side of the face.. And you didn't even BLEED" Pipit clenched Link's hand tightly in his. "For god's sake Pip" Linked groaned.

Ever since they were little, Pipit was always governing what Link did, trying to stop him from his curious and rambunctious ways. Zelda may have been like a sister throughout his life, but Pipit made it his mission in life to fill the role of 'annoyingly controlling father'.  
"I'm fine. It's never been bad enough that I couldn't heal myself. And the last time he sort of.. Ran away.. Instead of finishing me off.. Which was odd. Then again he IS odd.." Link looked off to the side as he trailed off, thinking about how weird Ghirahim was acting when last he saw him.

"Ugh.. Link.." Pipit pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up. "When are you planning on going back?" he continued. Link looked up at him and noticed he was still holding his hand. "Uh.. well.. I was gonna grab another potion and go.. In about.. An hour?".

"What? You just got here?" Pipit placed his free hand on his hip and glared at him. "Well.. Yeah.. But.. I can't really stay for any longer. I'm on a time limit, Pip. Last time I was late, I got told off.. And beaten to a pulp." Link looked off to the side, remembering how he was too late to catch Zelda.

"Well too bad! You can't explore or fight when you're running on empty! That's not going to help your reaction time and it's also bad for your health. No, tonight you're staying at my house and I'm making sure you at least leave with an intake of a sufficient amount of sustenance." Pipit pulled Link to his feet. "In other words you're going to cook for me while I'm under house arrest..." Link quirked a brow at his friend. "Glad we're on the same page" Pipit flashed him a huge grin, confirming the fact that he wouldn't let him leave. Link sighed and shook his head as he let Pipit drag him off to his home.

"Oh! Link! Oh how lovely it is to see you again!" When Link stepped through the door after Pipit, he immediately heard the sing-song voice of Mallara making her way over to them with a spring in her step. She took hold of Link's hand as he gave her a warm smile. "it's good to see you too, Mallara."

She lead him over to the table and bade him sit before flittering off to make some tea for the boys. "So where do you go all the time, Linky? Why we do miss you ever so much when you're gone! Pip especially! I couldn't tell you how many times I've caught him sitting on one of the platforms waiting for you-"

"MUM! STOP! Go buy some more vegetables or something!' Pipit's face was red up to the tip of his ears as he ushered the giggling Mallara out of the house. He slammed the door and leant back against it. "She's just always got to be such a goddess damn nuisance" He kept his face turned away from Link, trying to hide the blush that was refusing to leave his cheeks.

Link chuckled at his friend's embarrassment and changed the subject for him "so you still work the nightshift? On patrol I mean."

Pipit stood up and went over to the boiling water "well, I have tonight off, but yeah. I still need the money, Rent isn't exactly cheap.. and Mum doesn't understand that she has to do more than just make tea for visitors.. I don't have time to clean when I come home so, coming home to all this mess everywhere it.. riles me up a bit." Pipit poured the tea and brought two cups over, sitting them on the table.

"You need money?" Link asked as he slid the cup towards him.  
"I just need to hurry up and get my knight status, so I can earn more.." he replied.  
"Pip, if you need help.."  
"no. I'm not taking your money, Link"  
"Pip, I don't need it! I get heaps of it! so much sometimes that I can't carry it all"  
"..what?"  
"On my.. adventures.. I find a lot of rupees! they're everywhere! It wouldn't be fair if i kept it all to myself!" Link said as he reached back into his money bag.  
Pipit, took hold of link's shoulder "what do you mean you find it? Link it's your-" Pipit was cut short when he saw Link pull out a solid, gleaming, purple rupee. "t-that's"  
"50 rupees, Pip. And I want you to have it. I know how hard you work, you've been working hard since you could walk."  
"but Link.."  
"just shut up and take it, moron." Link shoved the rupee into Pipit's hand.

Pipit stared at the beautiful gem, wide-eyed in shock. he had never even held a purple rupee before, let alone had one given to him. "Link.. I can't..". Link glared at him, "If you say another word, I'll leave without dinner." Link jokingly threatened his friend. Pipit looked into that undeniable, gorgeous blue stare and felt his cheeks warm. there was no denying those eyes and he sighed, defeated. "fine..". Link flashed him a triumphant grin and laughed.

-.-_.-.

Pipit rolled over and shifted the covers around him. He'd been tossing and turning all night. Something about this night made him unbelievably uncomfortable. He cracked open his eyes and looked around the dark room. 'it's not even sunrise yet..' he sighed. He rolled over and tried to sprawl out, only to be interupted when he layed his arm and leg on another being, "wha..". Pipit's eyes adjusted to the dark and he saw golden hair gracing his pillow. he stared at the blonde locks, puzzled. He tried to think who the hair was attached to.

Then he remembered the evening prior and Link forcing Pipit to share his bed insted of sleeping on the floor. his eyes widened and he felt that familiar warmth creep back to his face.  
"link's in my bed" Pipit swallowed hard and found it impossible to move.

Pipit would never admit it to anyone, but ever since they were little, He'd been oddly attracted to Link. His golden hair, those brilliant blue eyes, and his uncanny way to always be the one to help. Pipit used to think he was just jealous of Link, but the older he got, he realized there was more to it. Every time he caught the girls of his class fawning over Link he'd drag him away instinctively, not realizing he'd done it until he was halfway out of the building. The only time he could never drag him away from a girl was when it was Zelda. if he was jealous of anyone it'd be her.

He leaned in a bit closer to the Blonde, moving ever so slowly. Pipit tried desperately not to wake his friend up, and moved his arm further over the sleeping boy. 'I just.. want to hug him' He moved himself as close as he could and hugged himself to Link, breathing in his scent. 'Link always smells good..' a big goofy grin crept across his lips. 'when he wakes up, he's going to think i'm a freak.. I'm such a moron..' Pipit wrapped his arm tighter around Link's waist and fell back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 - Grass

Weight. He felt heavy, the world around him was dark and empty. Link swung his sword out, but it was no good. he couldn't see a thing and could barely move "why am i so sluggish?"

"Link.." Link spun around, hearing the voice of one of his dearest friends. "Zelda?" he called. Zelda then came through the darkness, light shining from her. she smiled warmly at him and he ran towards her, dropping to his knees and hugging her. "Zelda! you're alright! thank the goddess!" Link felt delacate fingers run through his hair and he sighed. here she was, safe and sound. finally.

and then.. an all too familiar chuckle resonated through the darkness.

"Zelda.. she's mine. and you will be too.." Link looked up, wide-eyed, and saw the demon lord Ghirahim towering above him where Zelda once was. Ghirahim, however, continued to stroke his head. "you.. you will never get Zelda!" Link tried to pull away, but Ghirahim grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet quickly. "I already have her. she's mine to do whatever I please with.. and so are you." Ghirahim crashed his lips into Link's and held him in place.

Link froze for a second, shocked at what was happening, before punching Ghirahim and forcing his way away from the demon.  
"Get away from me!" Link wiped his lips and felt his cheeks shine a bright red.  
"I can't.." Ghirahim looked to the floor.  
"What do you mean.."  
"I'm your dream, moron." Ghirahim placed his hands on his hips and leant to the side. Link stared at him, puzzled. "My.. dream?"  
"Yeah, you're dreaming! duh? hello! why do you think i'm not as uh.. eloquent as I would be in real life" Ghirahim waved his hands around and sat on the ground.  
"I'm dreaming.. and my subconscious put YOU in here.. and _still_ has you insult me. I can be plenty eloquent, should I feel the need to speak like it!" Link stamped back over to the dream-demon.

"clearly.." he huffed.  
"What do you want? why am I dreaming of you? the only time I ever realize my dream is a dream is when there's something important happening. So tell me what you want so I can wake up."  
"I'm not sure, but it obviously has something to do with me.. the.. real me that is, not the dream me"  
"My dreams are telling me about Ghirahim?"  
"Could just be that you have to watch out for him.. or I don't know. don't trust him?"  
"You don't know?"  
"I'm _your_ subconscious, remember?"  
"you're also Ghirahim.."  
"Well I don't know, either Fii is screwing with your mind again or there's more to the demon lord than meets the eye." dream-Ghirahim glanced at Link and then faded away into the darkness. "more than meets the eye.."

Link couldn't shake the weight that was present throughout his dream, and with the weirdness of said dream forcing him back to consciousness, he tried desperately to cling to sleep. reaching out, he grabbed something soft and hugged into it. "no.. I don't want to wake up..." he mumbled.  
"Link?" he cracked open his eyes and saw Pipit in front of him, "Pip?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

._.-..

Pipit woke with a start as he felt strong arms encase him. he looked down slightly to see Link clinging to him, stirring from his sleep. He found himself gazing at the slightly smaller boy's features. Link was going to wake up any moment and see that they were cuddling. He'd probably freak out. 'I need to stop hugging him..' Pipit sighed. "I don't want to.." he whispered.

"no.. I don't want to wake up..." Link mumbled sleepily. Pipit took his arms off of him, "Link?"

"Pip?" Link rubbed his eyes and then pulled himself into Pipit. "mmm.. no". Pipit decided that if he didn't get up, out of bed, and away from Link he'd loose his mind. He pushed Link softly off of him and stood up, the cold air of the morning greeting him abruptly. He heaved a long and disappointed sigh before going to make breakfast.

_ . . ._

Link staggered out of the house and stretched, taking in the loving warmth of the sun. "So you're going now?" Pipit came through behind him, closing the door as he went. "as soon as I get some more supplies, yeah. do you want to come buy stuff with me?" Link said as he smiled, gesturing to the giant tent that was the bazaar. Pipit glanced in that direction and nodded. "Great, let's go." Link strode off toward the Bazaar and Pipit followed suit.  
"Oh! Link! back for more potions? I hope you're not hurting yourself too much out there! you sure do buy a lot of my potions." Luv called as she walked over to where Link was staring at a potion. Link smiled and shook his head. "He's assured me he's fine," Pipit added, sarcastically. Link shot him an annoyed glance. "Well so long as you're taking care of yourself, that's all that matters" Luv then proceeded to fill up a fresh bottle of the life-saving red potion for Link and bade the boys farewell.

"why do you never actually talk to anyone in the bazaar? you never shut up when you're with me." Pipit said as they strolled out of the large tent.  
"I don't know.. I don't like talking to people I don't know very well. With you or Fledge or Zelda, I'm comfortable. I mean jeez, when we were little we did _everything_ together!" 'though I seem to have more confidence when giving ghirahim a piece of my mind' Link thought to himself as he fiddled with his adventure pack and shifted his weapons around as they made their way over to the jumping platform. "yeah.. we did.. It's just weird when you don't talk. I like when you talk" Pipit trailed off. "you like when I don't shut up?" Link chuckled.

"uh.. just.. yeah, I do." Pipit looked away from him again. "I'll make sure to ramble on about nothing, more often." Link walked up to the edge of the platform and rolled his shoulders. Pipit walked up next to him and looked out at the cloud barrier. "when will you be back?" he asked. Link glanced over to his friend and shrugged. "don't know. depends..". Pipit looked down at his feet and shuffled them around. "you're definitely coming back though..?"  
"well yeah, obviously!" Link said sarcastically, but when Pipit looked at him, concern painted across his face, his laugh died. "I promise." Link held out his hand to his friend. Pipit looked at Link's hand, nodded, and took hold of it. Link gave their hands a firm shake and smiled, confirming his promise.

Link was about to turn and jump off the platform when Pipit grabbed him around the waist and hugged him from behind.  
"wha? Pipit! w-what are you?" he paused and froze when he felt lips graze his neck.  
"come back to me." Pipit whispered, sending a raging red blush across Link's face. "Pip.. you.. I didn't know you-" Link was about spin into a flurry of questions about what had just happened and 'what side Pipit was batting for', but Pipit quickly let go of Link and ran away as fast as he could. Leaving Link blushing a fiery red and regretting the fact that he had to leave.

_. . . .

Ghirahim watched his feet as he paced back and forth around the cistern, playing with his earring. It was quiet. Peaceful. The only sound breaking through the silence in the beautifully sculptured building was the steady dripping of water. He sat down and dunked his feet into the pool of water below him. 'he has to come here. this is the only place he _can_ come, surely. this place holds great power' Ghirahim looked around the room, 'He will require the power that rests here'.

Laying back down on the floor, he heaved a long relaxed sigh. 'Koloktos is strong.. but is Link stronger? surely not.. he will be killed.' images of when he first encountered Link came to his mind.

'he seemed so small at first. but, upon further inspection, he was fairly well-built. His battle stance was well-rehearsed and he fell back into it often. always the same, ready to defend. Most of his moves were based on defense, easy for him to hide behind his shield, or leap out of the way. He was obviously trained before he came here. not very well.. but well enough that he could pose a threat. That glare he gave me throughout all of our encounters would be enough to make anyone pause for a moment. It was intense.. fierce.. beautiful even..' Ghirahim shook his head. 'he's not nearly as beautiful as I am..' he rolled over and glared at a little creature crawling not too far from him. "that infuriating creature. how dare he crawl into my line of sight" Ghirahim summoned a dagger and threw it at the little monster, causing it to squeal in defeat. "..I think I might be letting those humans get to me. how irritating.. they wont stop plaguing my thoughts." Ghriahim paused and contemplated why his mind was doing this to him. "I must focus on acquiring the spirit maiden. I have no time to be evaluating my enemy's physique!" Ghirahim stood up and brushed the dirt from his suit.

"When Link arrives, Koloktos will destroy him. and that will be the end of it!" He assured himself before clicking and vanishing again in a cloud of flickering diamonds.

_._..-.

Finally. after all this time and effort, he made it to the centre room of the cistern. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Link puffed and took a few deep breaths. "okay.. here we go. last room." Link double checked the potions in his adventure bags and made sure his shield was in good condition before walking into the room.  
Stepping inside the room he heard the familiar slide and crash of the metal gate behind him. In almost every boss room, the door behind him would lock shut and he had grown accustomed to the sound. almost expecting to hear it. Another thing he almost always expected to hear, was the slow and demonic laugh that would echo throughout the area when ever he had to cross it's creator's path.

Looking up he saw Ghirahim again. Perched on top of what seemed to be a disassembled machine.  
"You really are persistant.." Ghirahim sighed and glanced over at Link, "I am terribly busy trying to find the clues that will help me revive the demon king." he continued. Link eyed him carefully, as the demon lord stretched out his arm and pointed at him. "your incessant buzzing around my head like some irksome gadfly when I'm THIS busy is... Well it's making me very disagreeable." Ghirahim then turned away from Link, raised his hand and snapped his fingers. disappearing again.

'weird.. he usually tells me his life story whenever we meet. maybe he's starting to realize that he shouldn't mess with me' Link smiled at that thought. but that smile was steadfast wiped (practically smacked) off his face when the parts of the machine began to beam and hum. coming to life as he stood there watching.  
the central, red gem on the beautifully crafted robot began to beat in a rhythm. a heart beat. the other pieces of the creation began to lift themselves off the ground. Link gasped and took a step back. one by one the pieces flew together. Joining arms, ligaments and hands. before a strange purple substance erupted through the limbs of the guardian, binding them all together.

The giant, six armed, Automaton came to life and drew it's weapons ready for battle. Link drew his sword and swallowed hard. this was not going to be easy.

_._..-.

The blades of grass felt so good against his perfect skin. Out of all the things in the current state of the world, this would be the thing Ghirahim would miss the most. he plucked a few blades and brought them up to his face and looked at the vibrant green that painted it. "so delacate.." he whispered. the green of the grass had become to grow on him recently. often he found himself staring at it. fascinated as to how small it was. and yet it was key to the survival of thousands of creatures. the sun shone off the edges making each individual piece seem all the more fascinating.  
He lay down and breathed in the scent of the bare grass. the dirty, sweet. smell the grass gave him was something he came to look forward to experiencing. he wasn't sure why. Ghirahim closed his eyes and decided to take a short moment to relax himself before searching for more clues as to where he could find another way to get the spirit maiden.

He woke with a start when he heard a splash of water, immediately making himself invisible to the naked eye. Ghirahim stood and searched around for where the splash had come from. he followed the direction of the sound, towards the small bit of water under the giant tree that housed the kikwis.  
Crouching low, he planned to spring out and kill the creature that may have caught him dozing in the sun. if anyone had caught him, he'd have to kill them. 'what kind of Demon lord takes naps in the sun' he scolded himself. Ghirahim peeked over a log and called his dark blade to his hand, ready to strike.

but not a single move was made.

Infront of him, diving for the rupees at the bottom of the water, was Link.  
Ghirahim was stuck in place as he stared wide-eyed at the freely swimming teen. not a scratch on him. if anything he expected him to be bed-ridden for a while. not swimming around like a happy-go-lucky moron. "How.." he whispered. Link surfaced and gasped in a fresh lung-full of air, flicking his hair out of his face. Ghirahim watched as he swam to shore and counted the rupees he had collected.

The demon crept closer, sticking to the shadows. he watched as Link reached for his discarded items of clothing and searched through his adventure packs. He pulled out a large bag and emptied it's contents over the grass. Rupees of different sizes and colours spilled out of it. Link tilted his head and shook it in what seemed like an effort to shake the water from inside his ear.

Ghirahim stared at him, taking in every little detail. Without his armor, Link (somehow) seemed larger. He clearly was in a better condition than the demon expected. over his shoulders, arms and back there were muscles clearly built through hours of training and fighting. the water that drenched the younger man made the hair on his head dark. almost brown. his body gleamed in the sun. While Ghirahim knew Link was clearly defenseless without his armor, he still seemed somewhat intimidating.

"The green, clunky outfit he's usually clad in does nothing for him.. he should wear a suit like mine. not white, obviously. White would not suit him. Green is what looks best on him. he'd want something with flexibility, something he could move around in. if he changed his tactics, he wouldn't need to rely on defense to overcome his opponent." Ghirahim rambled on to himself as he glanced at more and more of the details that made up Link's being. his earrings that the demon had never noticed before, a few scars he had on his arms, and the way the water ran down his back, outlining the smooth lines of his shoulder blades and spine.

Looking at Link like this, as another being. not just a human. not just an enemy, Ghirahim found himself appreciating Link for what he was. Though small and insignificant, he was willing to put his life on the line to save so many people and different creatures. some of which weren't the kindest to him. 'how small he is.. and yet he is key to the survival of thousands..' Ghirahim looked down at the grass he'd also come to appreciate. "Grass.." he whispered.  
"that's what I recognized on him. he smells of the fresh grass." Ghirahim thought back to the day where he nearly defeated him. the day where he had taken in his scent.. and tasted the hero's tear.

"everywhere I go, he follows. everything I do, he's there too. I thought he was merely the key to finding the girl. but it seems there's more to it." Ghirahim inched closer to Link, who was still too busy fiddling with his items to notice anything.  
Keeping his distance, Ghirahim reached out and touched the fabric of the tunic that was sprawled out on the ground. the lively green met his eyes and sent a wave of emotion through him. 'we are bound by a thread of fate.. where is it leading us..' he thought to himself. Ghriahim, not wanting to spoil the new light he saw the young man in, dropped the tunic before quickly darting off and teleporting away.


	5. Chapter 5 - Awkward situations

Link landed outside the doors leading to the academy, feeling completely drained. He knew he should have come back to rest immediately after defeating koloktos. but, the arrogant fool he is, he convinced himself that he had plenty of energy left and went straight on to the sand-sea of Lanayru. He ached all over and decided that it wouldn't matter much if he went into a coma for a few days.

Link dragged his feet over to the doors and jiggled the handle. locked.  
Letting loose an irritated and tired groan, he made his way across the bridge to the stair that would eventually lead to the other door of the academy. Jumping from the ledge of the upper platform was an idea. However, Link knew he wouldn't be able to catch himself when he landed and would end up giving himself a concussion.  
Half way across the bridge and he heard steady foot steps carry closer, below him. He peeked over the railing and saw Pipit working his normal rounds on patrol. 'maybe Pip can catch me and carry me to bed..' he thought, his mind only on the one way track to sleep-land.

"P-ip" Link's voice cracked as he spoke, signaling that his body was already half-asleep.  
Pipit looked around, clearly hearing him. "hello?" he called out in no particular direction. Link laughed "look up, stupid" he mocked. Pipit spun around and looked up at him, eyes clearly adjusted to the dark. "Link!?" He called.  
"shush, shhh. y'll wake 'em up" Link flicked his hand towards the academy and leaned further on the railing.

Pipit glanced over to the building then back to Link, "what are you doing out here? and at this time? when did you get back?" he asked in hushed tone. "Pip as much as i'd love t' give you a full play-by-play, I'm going to fall asleep standing up. so I'm going to jump off the ledge and you're gonna catch me? mmkay?" Link started to climb when Pipit shot his hands up, "wait you- for goddess' sake Link! stay there! I'll go open the door!" Pipit ran off and into the building through the door on the lower level. "oh yeah.. why didn't I think of that.." Link stumbled over to the door and rest his head on it. "so.. tired.."

Pipit opened the door suddenly and Link was send falling forward. "wha- Link!" Pipit quickly grabbed his arm and hauld him back up to his feet. "hwoah.. nice catch, Pippy" Link chuckled and rubbed his eyes. "what are you drunk? Goddess you better not be drunk, Link!" Pip looped Link's arm around his neck and supported him around the waist. "how could I be drunk Pip? don't be stupid. I'm just so freakin' tired" Link trailed off with a huge jaw breaking yawn and let his head wobble around. "just take me to by bedroom, okay?" he continued.  
"fine." Pipit complied and carried his friend over to the stair case. at the bottom of the stairs he noticed Fledge sneaking away from the kitchen, back to his room with a glass of milk in his hand. "Hey Fledge!" Pipit whispered. the other teen looked over to him. "Pipit? is that Link? what's wrong with him?" Fledge stepped closer to the two as they came down the stairs. "nothing, he's just really tired. can you open the door to his room for me?" Pipit guided Link down the last few steps and dragged him over to his door. "Sure!" Fledge quickly went and opened the door for them. "thanks, now go to bed before Gaepora sees you." Pipit warned as he got Link's now obviously unconscious body through the door. "Alright, get me if you need anything" and with that, Pipit closed the door.

Link was heavy. Too heavy. Way heavier than he used to be. Pipit flung him down onto the bed less-than gently, his weight becoming too much for him to handle for long. He sat down on the bed next to him and got to work stripping the other of his weapons, boots, hand braces and adventure packs. "If it wasn't for the chain mail he'd be fine like that." Pipit sighed and rolled his shoulder before attempting to remove Link's tunic and armor. Everything had about 50 million different latches and hitches and the tunic kept getting caught in the links in the chain mail, but Pipit eventually managed to get it off him, leaving him in his pants and filthy white undershirt. "god you stink, Link" Pipit moved back away from the boy and turned his head away from Link's really bad B.O. "all that running around, being an idiot's taking it's toll obviously" Pipit stood, wiped Link's sweaty hair out of his face and left the teen to sleep in peace.

_._..-.

Link rolled over and cracked his eyes open. It was dark, save for the subtle flickering of a single candle, burning away on his desk. He blinked his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, and saw a covered meal on his table. 'food?' Link tried to smell around for the scent of the food. 'pumpkin soup..' He slipped out of his bed and staggered over to the lukewarm soup. Who brought this to him? Fledge maybe.. he'd done it before on nights where Link was too busy crafting a wooden statue to realize he was hungry.

He pulled out the chair and sat down on it quietly. 'what time is it..' he looked out of the window into the still night outside. It was obviously late, every move he made seemed like it echoed all the way to the Lumpy Pumpkin.  
Picking up the spoon, Link took the cover off the soup and stirred it around. He was about to eat a spoonful when he heard footsteps outside.

Link blew out the candle and crept over to the window, crouching low. He peeked over the windowsill and glanced around. the footsteps grew closer and Link noticed the familiar clunk As the yellow-clad knight rounded the corner, he sighed. "it's just Pipit".  
Pipit looked towards Link's window and saw him peeking out, he paused for a second then made a b-line over to him. "link, what are you doing up?" he whispered.  
"I just woke up.. maybe it was the smell food that woke me up?" Link glanced back at the food and smiled.  
he shivered as a cold breeze came in through the window and feathered along his bare arms.  
"you should put some pyjamas or something on, now that you're finally awake. you'll catch a cold. did you eat the soup?" Pipit stepped slightly closer and tried to see in through the window. 'soup.. did I say it was soup?' Link tilted his head. "did you bring it to me?".  
Pipit looked away from him, "I knew you'd be hungry when you woke up.. so I had the cook cover it so it'd stay hot longer.."

Link scratched the bottom of his jaw, "it's still kinda warm. Thank you for getting it for me.. and for bringing me to my room when I asked you. Were you the one that took off my armor for me?"  
Pipit nodded, still looking away from him.  
"thank you." he smiled. "you're doing your rounds? aren't you cold?" Link asked.

Pipit looked back at him with a slightly confused expression that quickly shifted into a smile, "I'm the one that's supposed to ask you that" he chuckled, "yeah, I'm doing my usual patrol." he continued. Link nodded and looked down the path outside the academy.

"you were gone for a long time.." Link turned his head back to Pipit who had focused his concerned gaze back on him. "I know.. I came back though.. like I promised."  
"yeah.. you were so tired. You've been asleep all night and day."  
"really?"  
"mhm. I came to check on you a few times." Pipit continued as he stepped closer, turned and leant back on the windowsill. Link trained his eyes on Pipit as he moved. taking in the details of his face, and the concern and hidden tiredness that was painted across it.  
"how long.." Link looked out, down the path again.  
"how long, what?"  
"how long have you liked boys? or well.. liked me?" he asked as his cheeks started to get warm.

Pipit let out a short, chocked sound and looked to the ground. "It's not that it's just boys.. I think I like girls too.. b-but.. I've sort of... always liked you more." he confessed.  
"why didn't you just tell me?"  
"tell you? how could I? it's not an easy thing to say. especially when everyone was talking about how you and Zelda would one day end up together.." he trailed off. "eugh.." Link stood up from the window, his eyes squinted in disgust. "She's like my sister! ugh! that would be so weird!" he continued.  
Pipit chuckled, "well, that's how everyone sees it.. and you never know... given time you might change your mind..."

"pip.."  
"mm?"  
"do you like me?"  
"I-I think we've already established that.."  
"okay... so... what do we do?"

Pipit spun back around and and looked at Link, puzzled. "you're not weirded out by this? you don't think I'm a freak?" he asked.  
"no? why would I?"  
"well.. it's not normal right? two men can't be together.. how would they make children?"  
"wha-! PIPIT! even if I was a girl, I wouldn't be thinking of having children and all that at _this_ age!"  
"that's not what I meant.. it's just not natural.."  
"natural? same-sex loftwings partner up all the time. you know that better than I do."  
"mm.." Pipit sighed and leant his elbows on the windowsill, burying his face in his hands.

Link watched him, 'how long has he been having this weird inner battle with himself?' He reached out and placed his hand on top of Pipit's head.  
Pipit jumped slightly, but kept to where he was.  
"so do you want to go out?" Link asked bluntly.

Pipit shot his head up, face red as a tomato, and mouth agape. "what?"  
"well if you like me then we could date.. that's what you do..."  
"but.."  
"you don't want to?"  
"no.."  
"oh.."  
"NO! I meant, no i don't _not_ want to"  
"..huh?"

Pipit slapped himself and groaned, "I mean.. I want to! but I don't know if i should.." he sighed and leant back on the window, "just.. let me think about it, okay?" he continued.

Link scooted over and stood over Pipit's defeated form, "okay. take as long as you need. I'm gonna eat and go back to sleep now." Pipit mumbled in agreement and Link smiled. He leaned towards him slightly and stroked the top of his head before moving off to go eat. Pipit's face was completely red by the end of this awkward conversation and he was thankful it was over. "night", he whispered.

_...

"A second gate.. this is wonderful!" Ghirahim punched his fist into the air and wore the biggest smile he could muster. "All I need to do is find it, and the girl will be mine!" the Moblin who showed the images in the fire sanctuary and shared the good news with the sleek demon lord, smiled and held out his hand. Ghirahim looked at the monterous hand then back up to the Moblin's face.

"what? you want a reward?" He folded his arms and quirked a brow. The monster nodded his head furiously. "I don't have anything you'd want.. unless you want me to kill something for you and give you the meat.." Ghirahim scratched his perfect chin and looked out through the large doors they came through.  
The giant creature lowered his head and scratched his groin, still holding his other hand out. Ghirahim sent him a side glance. 'eugh.. don't just scratch yourself in front of me..' she sighed.

"maybe I can give you some rupees.. not that you'd be able to use them.."  
The moblin shot his head up with a shit-eating grin painted across it. "you want rupees? what for...?" Ghirahim looked past the moblin to see little bokoblins staring in awe at green and blue rupees they had found. he flicked his hand out and waved it around , "fine. I'll find you some. Be thankful for my unlimited generosity. You do something wrong though, and I'll cut you in half and feed you to rest of the bokoblins" Ghirahim glared at the creature and it bowed to him, before darting away.

'Link had a sack with the gems.. I'll retrieve them from his corpse after our next and last encounter..' Ghirahim's face grew dark and a devious smile crept across his lips. Images of how he'd defeat him, flashed through his mind.  
Maybe he'd somehow use his shield against him, crushing him with it. or maybe he'd use his sword against him, steal it away and cut him up with it. however he did it, he knew he'd enjoy seeing the looks on his face. that defiant glare would be long gone by the time he was done with him, his body would barely be able to move, that clunky armor long-gone and destroyed under his might, that beautiful mop of golden and sun kissed hair resting casually on the ground as he lay naked beside him, smiling contently.

Ghirahim choked on his thoughts and shook his head, staring wide-eyed at the ground. He slapped his hand accross his mouth, 'what am I thinking?!' He curled his hands into fists. "UGH! why does he invade my thoughts?!" Ghirahim marched over to a wall and smashed his fist into it, watching it crumble. The moblins and all his other minions fled from him as fast as they could.  
"What do I do..?" Ghirahim started to grind his fist into the wall. "what if he never leaves my thoughts..? why does he haunt me? Those eyes that pierced my soul.. they linger in my mind. It is like a _sickness_.." He backed away from the wall.

"You will make the most beautiful face.. when I finally cut you down. then I will no longer be tormented. you will be unable to confuse my mind for a moment longer!" Ghirahim flicked his hand out and snapped his fingers, setting off to find the boy.

._. .-. ._.

As the sun rose, Link had crept out of the academy. Sealing around 50 rupees in a bag and tossing it into an open window in pipit's house, silently, before rushing off a platform headed towards Eldin. With an ear splitting whistle, his crimson bird caught him swiftly. He ran his fingers through the tufts of feathers along his faithful and loyal loftwing, and smiled warmly.  
The fiery red creature never failed him, even when Groose had captured the beautiful bird, he did everything he could to break free and return to Link.

Nearing the beam of red light, he leaned down and hugged the bird fondly. The giant aviary squawked in approval and with that, Link slipped off his back and plummeted through the barrier of thick clouds, closing his eyes as he drifted down through the opening. Cherishing the cool rush of air before it would surely turn into heat.

As he made his way into the middle of the the barrier, the air was still.  
There was the up draft caused by his decent, but it was dead. In there it seemed like there was nothing.  
He had the same feeling the first time he went into the silent realm in Farron woods.  
The stillness.. it felt empty. Not only was he defenseless against the guardians that pursued him relentlessly, he felt sick to his stomach the entire time. The relief that washed over him when he finally collected all the tears was astonishing. The same feeling only worsened when he had completed the silent realm in Lanayru.

Link scrunched his eyes when he reached the other side of the clouds, the hot air engulfing him completely. He sighed and skillfully slipped the sailcloth through his fingers, letting it catch him abruptly. glancing down, he saw that the world below him was dark, the smoke from the volcano was heavy. Within a few moments Link heard a rumble from the fire mountain and a huge gust of hot wind knocked him off course, sending him flying off in every direction. He yelled and held on the the sailcloth, hoping it would steady him.

Until he landed violently and, with a loud_ whack_, was knocked unconscious.


	6. Chapter 6 - Saviour

[JUST A QUICK NOTE; sorry I've been taking so long to update. With Christmas, new years and everything I haven't had time to update, then when i finally get the time i realized my internet had conked out so i had to get that fixed BUT I'm back and I'm giving you what you asked for c;. thank you so much for reading this drabble and reviewing it. Also someone pointed out that the timeline is wrong in some areas, thank you very much for that, I'll get around to fixing it eventually, in the mean time bare with my vague memory :)

OK THANKS MOVING RIGHT ALONG]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ghirahim woke with a shock as he felt the ground rumbling beneath him. he shot up to his feat and summoned his blades hearing the screeching of his minions running around outside. he peered out of the cave and watched them with contempt.  
'I came in here to have some privacy and _sleep_.. but if those vile little things keep running around crazy, I wont be able to rest. That and they'll come looking for me before too long with the mountain coming to life' He sighed and snapped his fingers, appearing among them.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, grabbing one by the head and lifting it up. the rest paused their scampering and watched the demon in fear. "you are to keep an eye out for the _human_! NOT FLITTER ABOUT LIKE ANTS WHO HAD THEIR NEST FLOODED! NOW GET BACK TO YOUR POSTS!" Ghirahim flung the bokoblin aside, as they all cowered in fear. "the fury of the mountain will subside momentarily, but if you let that boy in here without my knowing, there will be no end to _mine_" and with that he teleported back to his hiding place.

Ghirahim peeked out from inside his cave as the weird little creatures scurried quickly back to where they were supposed to be. He smiled, "_good_.. now I can slee-"  
Ghirahim was cut short by a short-lived yell and a loud thud coming from not too far out. He emerged from his cave and followed the direction of the scream.

Rounding a corner, the demon froze.  
Laying dead-still on the ground before him was the green-clad hero.  
His eyes widened and he saw a trickle of blood make it's way across the blonde's forehead.  
Link had obviously been descending through the cloud barrier the demon could not pass, when the volcano erupted.

Ghirahim crouched low and crept closer to the sleeping human. He reached out his hand and swiped at the blood. 'He took a lot of damage'. If Ghirahim wanted, he could just leave Link there, and the pathetic human would die by merely bleeding to death. No more problems, no more little hero stopping him from fulfilling his duty to his master.  
'but then it would be insanely harder to find the second gate of time..' he pondered this conundrum for a while, staring at the bright red that decorated Link's bronzed skin.

After a few seconds to consider his options, Ghirahim scooped Link up in his arms and carried him back to his little hiding cave and placed him down on the floor.  
Ghirahim recalled when he had almost beaten Link before and he pulled out a strange red liquid that gave him his strength back.

He leaned in and studied Links many little bags he had strapped to his waist. Sliding his hand into one and not finding what he was looking for.  
The demon continued to plunge into Link's numerous bags until he grasped his long slender fingers around a cool glass bottle. he popped open the cork and a sickly-sweet and bitter smell rushed to his nose. he gagged and covered his mouth, 'how can he stomach this?'.

Ghirahim ran his fingers through Link's golden tresses around to the back of his head (unconsciously admiring their colour) and raised it up. He forced the human's mouth open and tried to pour the liquid inside, spilling the majority of what he poured onto to ground.  
When a decent mouthful finally found it's way into Link's mouth, he massaged Link's throat, encouraging him to swallow.

Nothing seemed to change. Not a hint that it did anything. Ghirahim growled and figured that if it was going to do anything he'd need more of it in his mouth and less on the floor. The demon Looked at the vile-smelling liquid and grimaced, before taking a large swig of the potion and holding it in his mouth.

He squeezed Link's mouth open again and hesitated, swirling the liquid around in his mouth and despising the taste. He leaned in closer until his lips grazed over that of the hero. Ghirahim placed a hand gently on Link's throat and began to massage it, opened his mouth and let the life-saving liquid drip from his into the younger male's.

Again and again, Ghirahim took large mouthfuls of the liquid and dripped it into Link's mouth, forcing him to swallow it. The bottle was nearly empty and Ghirahim pressed his lips firmer around Link's with each gaining moment.  
He was coming to enjoy this.

As Ghirahim withdrew from Link's mouth for the final time, he saw the cut on the top of Link's head had almost completely healed. he raised his eyebrows in disbelief and glanced back at what was left of the red potion. He licked his lips.

"Perhaps, after forcing him to tell me the whereabouts of the other gate of time, I'll get him to tell me where I can acquire some of this potion.. It's quite useful.." He placed it aside and unbuckled the many items that were Hanging off of Link's body. After removing it all, Ghirahim realized Link really was in good shape. Even to the _Fabulously_ strong demon lord, that stuff was a little heavy. 'Imagine what it would be like for a human?'.  
He decided to remove Link's tunic and chain mail as well. If he was going to get any information out of Link, he'd need to be defenseless.

For the remainder of the day Ghirahim watched Link slowly heal. occupying himself by playing with Link's equipment.  
The bugshot was especially entertaining. As the sun began to set, Ghirahim heard a low grumble, he turned to find that Link had shifted in his sleep in an effort to get comfortable.

'He's healed.. that potion works miracles. Is it perhaps the courage the spirit maiden spoke of? no, she said it was something he was born with..' Ghirahim shuffled over to Link and leant over him, 'perhaps it's a form of mutation in his genes..'  
He looked down at Link's serene face and unconsciously ran his fingers over the smooth skin. It's soft texture mesmerizing him and he soon found himself poking and prodding around Link's face (specifically his cheeks). 'soft.. springy? spongy?.. How to describe is this texture..'

He lay down on Link's chest and folded his arm under his chin, continuing to poke the soft skin. he smiled and gazed lazily at the fascinating creature he had captured.  
Humans were interesting. he wanted to learn about them. his minions were all vile, disgusting, blood-thirsty creatures. Humans weren't like that. For one thing they were clean.. Perhaps humans, or rather this particular human, would prefer a conversation to a confrontation? 'I think I shall try to take the gentle approach with him when he awakens..'

Ghirahim turned his head and rested it on Link's chest, covered by his thin undershirt. Listening to the steady beating of his heart. He sighed.  
"I could kill you so easily right now.. you're so fragile.." he ran his hand over Link's skin again. irritated that he couldn't completely feel the texture for the gloves he wore.  
"so fragile.. so soft.. so nice.." Moving from his position, half draped over the goddess' own chosen hero's torso, started to feel like an impossible task.  
Instead he put up a barrier around the entrance to the cave.  
That way, if Link woke up, he couldn't escape. And with that, Ghirahim finally let himself drift off to sleep.

-_-..

Link felt himself laying on something hard. the ground maybe? had he fallen out of bed again? no, this ground was uneven. it felt rough and he could tell there were multiple little rocks digging into him.

He cracked his eyes open and heaved a sleepy sigh. which was hard to do. something was laying on him. he looked down and saw nothing.  
weird, he definitely felt something there.

He looked around and saw that he was in a cave. he looked toward the entrance and saw the lava-covered landscape outside. 'oh yeah..' Link recalled his terrifying decent, lifting his hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose. 'oh man, I remember being hurled around and hitting the ground. which hurt..' he rubbed the spot where he had collided with the unforgiving ground. 'I don't remember anything after that..' he continued.

Link closed his eyes again and sighed. he lay there in silence for a while. listening to the noises the lonely cave made.  
The occasional crackle of dust falling from the roof caused by the rumbling volcano, the slight breeze that made it's way into the cave's entrance, the soft sighs of someone sleeping.

wait..

Link shot his eyes open and tried to move his other arm. It was stuck. he couldn't move his chest or left arm. He panicked and tugged at his arm. Failing to budge it, Link raised his right arm and brought it crashing down on whatever was on top of him that he couldn't see.

As his fist made contact, the trickery faded away and another being was revealed. A short, sharp grunt emerged from the body laying on top of him. the larger form rolled it's shoulders and raised itself onto their hands.

"Ghirahim.." Link growled.  
Seeing opportunity, he slipped his legs from under the demon as he groggily raised onto all fours. Link curled his feet to his chest and released them, stretching his feet out in a hell-shattering kick that collided with Ghirahim's ribs. Hurling him backwards and slamming back into the ground.  
Link looked over to the groaning Demon and scrambled to his feet, noticing that he had been stripped of his armor and weapons

"y-ng-you're awake then" Ghirahim grumbled, holding his side and taking deep breaths.  
As the Demon stood, Link curled his hands into fists and took a battle stance. If Ghirahim thought he was defenseless without his weapons, he'd prove him wrong (or die trying).

The demon slowly raised his hand and shook his head, "I will not fight you, hero."  
Link didn't break his stance and kept his sight trained on the evil being. He wasn't about to believe him for a second. He just continued to glare defiantly at the demon.

Ghirahim sighed and leant back against the wall. "you don't think I would have killed you by now had I wanted to? use your brain, human". Link's brow tensed in confusion. He was right, "then why?" he asked sharply, never once wavering his stance. The demon looked Link up and down and traced his fingers along his jaw. "I need information out of you." he said plainly. Link narrowed his eyes at the creature and huffed, "if you think I'm telling you anything about Zelda, you're mistaken." Ghirahim tilted his head and smiled a crooked grin. "ah yes.. you're quite fond of that creature aren't you? I'll admit she could be considered very.. pleasing to the eye. Though she cannot hope to compare to the being I see before me."

Link blushed and recalled the dream he had where Ghirahim crashed his lips into his own. "shut up, demon. What do you want from me?" Ghirahim's face relaxed and his brow quirked. Tilting his head, he glanced at the red that had made it's way onto Link's once tanned cheeks. "Information. I told you."

"Well you're not getting any. So let's get this over and done with!" Link raised his fists in a block and leant back, preparing to fight. The demon laughed and shook his head. "stubborn.." he stated before wondering over to Link.

Link took a fierce right swing at the demon, who skillfully avoided the punch. only to have a mean left hook snap the right side of his face. He growled in annoyance and snatched up Link's hands, slamming him into the cave wall. "You're testing my patience, Human"  
Link spat in Ghirahim's eye, receiving a swift, debilitating kick to the stomach. He let out a painful grunt. "Foolish. You should know better than to pick fights you cannot win!" Ghirahim leant in to Link's shoulder and wiped the spit onto his shirt. "I know my own limits better than _scum_ like you.."

Ghirahim looked back at link, his face uncomfortably close. No emotion ran across his face and that made the stare all the more creepy.  
Link, although in slight pain, continued to glare furiously at the monster.

"You interest me." Link blinked his eyes in surprise at the odd statement."interest..?" he repeated. "Yes. Everything about you is exceedingly fascinating to me. And it seems, no matter how hard I try, you fail to leave my thoughts. Quite obviously my attempts at killing you have all failed, so I decided to try a different tactic. That tactic being to simply speak with you." The demon stated.

"Speak with me, huh?" Link questioned. Ghirahim nodded, keeping his eyes on the younger male for any signs of action. "you planing on keeping me shoved up against a wall while you interrogate me?"  
"your proximity to the wall is of little importance. Your mouth can move, clearly, and thus you can tell me what I want to know. Keeping you restrained seems to be the only way you will talk without trying to disfigure my _outstandingly_ glorious facial features." Ghirahim said plainly as he laid all the facts out for him.

Link rolled his eyes 'who taught him to self-compliment? and _this_ much? he never shuts his trap about how 'beautiful' he is'. "I'm not gonna answer your questions. Not while you're dry-humping me against the wall. Let go and I'll talk." Link offered. Ghirahim paused for a few seconds before slowly releasing his grip on the hero and lowering his arms to his side.

Wasting no time, Link bent down low and with a roaring force and brought an earth shaking right uppercut directly to Ghirahim's jugular. The demon reached and grabbed at his throat, staggering backwards, and Link sent a wild left hook to the bottom of his jaw, sending him flying backwards onto his rump.

"-H-HOW DAre- DARE YOU-!" Ghirahim struggled to get past his tender vocal chords. Link took a step forward and stood tall knowing he'd caused damage to that annoyingly smooth voice. "You think I could possibly believe that tripe? you're a bigger dumbass than I thought!" he continued.  
His small victory was short-lived however, when Ghirahim flicked his hand out, clicked and disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7 - Captor

Ghirahim appeared behind Link and delivered a hard blow to the back of his head, making Link face-plant into the ground below him. "Ignorant _fool_.." Ghirahim practically had steam coming off of him. He rolled Link over and looked down at his, once again, unconscious face. "Ugh, by the will of my master... I hadn't planned to do that" Ghirahim slapped himself and tapped Link's cheek.

"this boy is an unfathomably irksome menace! _how_ are none of my tactics working?" Ghirahim started pacing back and forth, with his arms tightly crossed over his chest. The demon looked back down to the collapsed form of Link and a look of empathy crossed over his brilliant features.  
Link and he were practically the same. Both working for a higher power, both unwilling to work with the other. He knew it was highly unlikely that Link would want to have a conversation with him. he was aware of that. still, for some reason, he entertained the idea of speaking with him.

He frowned and walked back over to him, kneeling near his head. "You are a curse upon me.." Ghirahim felt around his neck, still tingling from the harsh punch he received. Ghirahim's body was almost gorgeously indestructible. So for Link to be able to punch him so hard that it hurt and even sent him off his feet, he must have untold power.  
"Why do you intrigue me so..?" He decided to care for Link until he woke again.

_..-.._.

Link was trapped in a dark room again. he wandered around until a large white figure crashed into him sending him to the floor with a painful thud. the creature smiled and kneeled over him. "hmh. you really are interesting.." the demon grabbed Link's hands and crashed them into the floor above his head.  
Link grunted and blinked again and again, trying to unblurr his vision. "wh-wha.. Ghirahim?!"

Ghirahim leaned in and captured Link's lips furiously. Biting and sucking on his lips and licking along his teeth, trying to force that long, snake of a tongue into the other's mouth. "mm.. I knew you would taste good.." he moaned into Link's mouth.

Link clenched his jaw closed so that the freakishly-long tongue couldn't slip in between his teeth. That is until Ghirahim ran his hand slowly down Link's chest and cupped his crotch, massaging him over his clothes. Link gasped at the foreign feeling and Ghirahim seized on the opportunity, thrusting his tongue into Link's mouth and licking up the taste of the hero.  
Link crunched down on the tongue causing Ghirahim to yelp and withdraw.

"nnh! you annoying little-" Ghirahim squeezed down hard on Link's crotch making him exclaim and try to pull himself out of the demon's grip.  
"are you going to be a good little hero and let me do what I want?" Ghirahim loosened his grip and massaged the area again, letting Link release the breath he didn't realize he was holding in. "I'm going to get you out of my head.. one way or another.. you will no longer haunt my mind.." The demon whispered and kissed down Link's neck to his collar bone.

"Out of your head? you think doing this to me will stop you from thinking about me?" Link moved his chest around as much as he could to move out of Ghirahim's way.  
"no, I plan to take your life with my own hands. I'll watch as that spirit of yours fades away, as the light disappears from your eyes until there is only the dark emptiness of death.. but, as for right now.. I just want to sate my body's _desires_.." Ghirahim started to grind himself on Link's leg.  
"g-get off of me!" Link thrashed around, but for some reason he couldn't escape the demon's clutches this time.

He clenched his eyes shut.

"Link?"

that familiar voice echoed around him once again.  
He cracked open his eyes and instead of Ghirahim leering over him, it was Zelda sitting next to him. "Z-Zelda?!" He tried to sit up and hug her, but he couldn't move his arms. He was still trapped. "Link.. where are your friends?"

"What do you mean? you ARE my friend!"  
"no Link.. I am the Goddess Hylia.." she shrugged and smiled at him. "Where are your friends, Link?"

Zelda began to shine bright golden rays everywhere, almost blinding Link. "ZELDA!" he called out for her.  
"Link.." The light suddenly cut out completely and he was left alone in the darkness. "where are your friends Link?" the voice of Pipit called in the darkness. "Pip?!" he called, but no light showed.  
Then a series of voices from all his old friends and companions called out "where are your friends, Link?"

the noise of them all grew louder and louder, piercing his ears making him panic and scream out, "NO! STOP! BE QUIET!"

Then everything stopped.  
Silence.

He opened his eyes to see Ghirahim sitting casually in front of him on a small patch of grass.  
The demon turned to link and a small, kind smile crept along his lips.

"where are your friends, Link?"

Link sat up, realizing that the restraints were now gone. "why do you all keep asking me that..?" he felt better knowing something natural was just in front of him. the green of the grass practically illuminated the darkness.

"Who are your friends, Link?"

"what?"

_..-.._.

As he regained consiousness, he felt warm. The dream that scared him long gone, chased off by the heat around him. Link cracked open his eyes and looked around.

Bars.

He had been moved.  
Link sat up and rubbed the back of his head where Ghirahim had whacked him. He flinched when he ran his fingers over the bump that had formed and sighed.

"So I'm in a cage.." he grumbled and stood. Link stretched out his arms and sides before grabbing the bars and shaking them furiously.

Link heard a small grumble and spun around on his heel, glaring fiercely around the cage. He saw no one but he knew there was someone there. 'he's here again.. using that invisibility bullshit'.  
Link bent down and scooped up a fist full of sand, then flicked it out around the cell.  
"where are you.." he whispered.

The sandy dust spread around the cage and fell slowly down onto the ground. In one small area, however, the sand halted it's decent and landed mid-air.  
"got you."

Link picked up a rock and ditched it as hard as he could at the levitating sand.

"AH! what in the world?!" Ghirahim showed himself and sprung out of the curled position he was in. He rubbed the side of his head where the sharp rock made contact. He glanced around frantically until his sight landed on Link, where he then huffed a frustrated sigh and leant back against the wall of the cage. "Must you insist on violence when you wake? that is twice now that you have interupted my rest." He ran his fingers through his silver locks and shrank down the wall onto his knees.

"So it would seem. Why wont you leave me alone?! I'm not telling you ANYTHING!" Link bent down and picked up another sharp rock from the floor. Ghirahim gave the other a petulant look then closed his eyes, turning his head from the hero.  
"I wish I knew.."

Link trained his sight on him and kept his back to the wall as he crept around to the front of the demon. "why are you here? if you captured me you should be off doing something evil while i can't stop you!" Link pointed out as he crouched down.  
"I stayed to make sure I didn't hit you too hard" Ghirahim clenched his fists and hung his head.  
"..why?"  
"I'm.. unsure. I should have killed you. I can make excuses and say it was because I wanted the information from you but.." he sighed and looked up to Link's glare, "but that's not true.."

"Why are you so interested in me, demon?"  
"I don't know. Some sort of.. brain lapse perhaps. If you could be so kind as to explain it to me, I would be grateful" Ghirahim twirled his hands around as he elaborated. "Are.. are you attracted to me?" Link knew that persistent blush was creeping back onto his face as he recalled the last dream he had of Ghirahim, and his wandering hands.

"Attracted? to a human? doubtful. I am a demon of outstanding prowess!" Ghirahim stood up and dusted himself off, obviously finding inspiration in his own words of praise. "Look at me, human! if anything it is you who should be drooling over my _perfectly_ sculptured being" he smiled and ran his hands slowly down his chest. "why if I were ever to find a human attractive they'd have to house immense levels of perfection just to compete with mine!" Ghirahim threw his arms out dramatically.

"Other than _obviously_ yourself, what would you describe perfection as?" Link quirked a brow, somewhat irked by Ghirahim's declaration that he wasn't good enough for a demon's taste. How high was this guy's standards? and how could he think that he was so desireable? A demon wasn't exactly a particularly attractive title.  
"hmm.. well" Ghirahim chuckled and stroked his chin dramatically. "they must be strong, like myself. Have smooth, yet rugged features, like me. They should be tall and slender, yet bulky and well exercised, like myse-"

"I said _other_ than you!"

Ghirahim glanced over at link and blinked in surprise. "ah yes, my apologies." Ghirahim smiled and threw his arms out wide. "Well they should just be perfect then! Shrouded in the light of the heavens, for surely only angels could have created such a fine.. being" Ghirahim dropped his arms and looked link up and down. "not.. unlike yourself.." he whispered.

Link watched on as the demon slapped himself and crossed his arms, before pacing back and forth along the length of the cage. He smiled as he heard the demon mumbling profanities. Link had obviously said something that set him off. "if you aren't attracted to me, then why do you force yourself on me so often?" Link crossed his arms and let a smug grin paint his face.

The demon paused his pacing and looked over his shoulder at Link, "often?". Ghirahim turned and took a few steps towards the hero. "but once have I showed a momentary lapse in judgement when I tasted your tear. What other incidents are you referring to..?"  
Link's shoulders tensed when he realized the only times Ghirahim had actually done anything of that manner to him.. was in his dreams. The blush on his face was surely a fiery red now that he realized Ghirahim had only showed any form of affection for him once.  
"uh.. I.." he stuttered.

"you are the same.." Ghirahim leaned forward and studdied Link's face. "Your dreams interrupted.. by none other than _myself_. Am I correct?" he quirked a brow at the blushing youth. "NO!" Link spat as he backed up and turned his face away.

The demon lord chuckled. "so I'm not the only one. Marvelous news!" he clapped his hands together with excitement. "What images plague your thoughts? is it only ever our encounters? or is your young, wild imagination running rampid?" the words practically danced off his tongue, his expression decidedly joyful after learning that Link thought about him as well. "Enough, Demon! Stop rambling nonsence!"  
"So the red in your cheeks show when you are flustered.. intriguing. I had wondered why, the last time it happened." Link drew his hand back and ditched the rock he still held at the demon, trying to silence his teasing, "I said, enough!". Ghirahim merely side-stepped out of the way and grinned mischeviously.

"just leave me alone.." Link huffed and leant back against the wall.  
Ghirahim folded his arms behind his back and bent down, looking up at the embarrassment plastered all over Link's face. he took a few careful steps forward, his torso still lowered and an undeniably pleased grin tugging the corners of his mouth. "I think of you too, you know. Of more than just our encounters."

Link sent him a disgruntled side-glance and grunted in disapproval, "I don't want to know what you've been doing with me in your thoughts" Ghirahim smiled a large, entertained grin and chuckled. "nothing you wouldn't approve of, I assure you!"  
"Like you'd be able to tell what I approve of!" Link scoffed.

"I'd assume nothing that would cause you pain... You humans are a sensitive sort. No, the gentle approach is best for you, hero." Ghirahim smiled deviously at the younger male, keeping his distance. "when are you going to let me out of here? or better yet, when are you going to leave me to rot?" Link side-stepped away from the demon, while trying to change the subject. "let you out of here? hmh, you know what I want, Link. When you tell me where the second gate of time is, you'll be free to go" Ghirahim's lips pulled into a sly smile as he crept ever so slowly towards him, "as for leaving you here, why ever would I want to leave when you're being so.. _entertaining_?" he continued. Link sighed, closed his eyes and side-stepped away from him again. He had thought as much. He wasn't getting out of here any time soon.

Retreating into his memories, while the demon was quiet, he recalled the long boring days where he had been confined to his room. Some days his friends would come to his rescue. Zelda would distract Gaepora while Pipit would help Link sneak out through the window.  
Thinking back on it now, Link could imagine no other place he would rather be than sitting on the bank of their little river swirling his feet around in the cool water and laughing with his dear friends.  
The memory faded when he felt a gloved hand being placed on his arm. Link rolled his eyes and tried to shake the hand off, only to have Ghirahim squeeze his fingers softly around the mucles on him arm. "Ghirahim, define personal space for me.." Link glared at the demon.  
"personal space?"  
"yeah, I didn't think you knew.."

Ghirahim stared into Link's glare and his devious smile faded. He brought his face closer and leant his chin on Link's shoulder. "Just tell me what I want to know, you irritating boy". Link looked at Ghirahim, the affectionate position he was in, and laughed. "your words contradict your actions, demon." he stated. Ghirahim's eyes looked over to Link's lingering smile. "they do.. then again, so do yours"  
"mine?"  
"Your smile, it's warm.. and kind. Often you'll freely smile at anything you see fit to deserve it. Even around your enemy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the way you smile." Ghirahim admitted and held tighter onto Link's arm.

"You're like a child." Link leant his head back against the wall, starting to get used to the soft, wanting grip on his arm. "Excuse me? Correct me if I am mistaken, but you are the youngest here!" Ghirahim huffed. "doesn't mean you don't act like a child. A child who clings to the toy he _can't have_" Link eyed Ghirahim's hand and grinned smugly.  
"a toy huh?" the demon's pearly-white, sharp teeth flashed in a delighted grin, "you would describe yourself as a toy? an object to be played with? my, my Link."

"Stop twisting my words, demon." Link shook his arm again, having the smug look on his face wiped off by Ghirahim's promiscuity. Finally breaking free of Ghirahim's tender grip, Link shook his head and crossed his arms "Go away." he said plainly. Ghirahim blew a cold stream of his breath over Link's skin, causing him to shiver and get goose bumps. He reached up and trailed his fingers over the bumps on his skin and smiled.

"you are just.. too many kinds of annoying.." Link swatted his hand away and sighed off to the side. Ghirahim laughed and took a step infront of the hero, leaning in close to his face once again. "and you are too distracting" the demon hissed. "I guess I can't apologize for my '_perfection_'" Link grumbled. "your perfection.." Ghirahim's words ghosted over Link's lips as he paused just inches away.  
"your _temptation_." the sweet words slithered out of his mouth as he continued.

before the demon could continue to toy with his captured hero, a red Bokoblin banged on the bars, grunting and screeching frantically. the demon growled and turned his head towards the little creature, "can you not see that I'm busy?".  
The little creature kneeled down and bowed, but still refused to leave, obviously something had gone wrong. Ghirahim groaned and pulled away from Link, swaggering over to the creature, "another being? what is it? what do you mean you don't know?! GET BACK TO IT AND KILL IT!" Ghirahim yelled and Link watched on, confused as to how Ghirahim could understand what the gross little thing was saying. all it sounded like was a series of screeches and grunts.

"FINE! it's obvious that you are all _completely_ incompetent. Get back to the intruder and I'll be there to dispatch them momentarily!" Ghirahim watched the little thing scamper off as fast as it could, still scowling at it.  
"It seems your wish to be left here to rot will be granted" Ghirahim turned on his heel and marched back over to Link. "Great. I look forward to it" Link stated sarcastically. Ghirahim lifted his hand and gripped onto Link's jaw, "I'll have you know, I refuse to give up on this. You will tell me what I need to know. I know this because.."

Link let out a surprised grunt and raised his fist up when Ghirahim captured his lips. He squeezed his eyes shut and tensed his body as the memory of Ghirahim taking advantage of him in his dream returned. But instead of the fierce attacker he imagined he would be, the kiss was warm, soft, with more give than take. Link found himself leaning into the kiss, his fist slowly moving back to his side.  
Ghirahim, having fixed his sight on link's powerful fist, smiled and loosened his grip on his jaw when he saw the 'ready-to-attack' hand return to his side. The demon's kiss grew slightly rougher with passion, while still being gentle enough not to startle Link, and he began to flick his tongue over Link's lips. The slight tingle of that snake-like tongue enticed a quiet sigh from Link. He reached out unconsciously and took hold of the demon's hips.

Ghirahim pulled away reluctantly from his captured hero and ran his hands down Link's chest.  
Link stumbled forward slightly, chasing the affectionate touch. He shook his head and realized what had just happened, looking wide-eyed off to the side. Ghirahim licked his lips and looked down at Link's hold on him. he smiled.

"...you want me just as much as I want you" he finished.  
Link hung his head and contemplated his situation. Ghirahim took a step away from Link's grip on his hips, flicked his hand out to the side and, in a shower of diamonds, disappeared again.

Link reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. he huffed and glanced up at where his captor once was. "what's happening to me? how did he..." Link crouched down and tugged at his blonde locks.

He sat there, feeling extremely disappointed in himself until he heard a quiet 'psst' from outside the cage. he looked up and out through the bars.  
"hello?" he called.

A clawed hand shot out of a hole in the ground and waved him over, "psst! Link!"

Link crawled over and stared into the hole. Out of the hole a pair of digging mitts flew out towards Link which he stumbled to catch and looked at, puzzled. "My mitts?" he stated. The paw shot up out of the hole again and sent Link a 'thumbs up' sign before vanishing into the ground again.  
Link grinned and slipped on the gloves. 'YES!' he started digging down as fast as he could. 'A friend DID come to my rescue.. that dream was pointless and weird just like the others!'

Link dug himself a hole down under the cage and then out past the bars and back to the surface. he shook the dirt out of his hair and bolted away from the jail, sneaking past the guards and up to the fire sanctuary.


	8. Chapter 8 - Not happy, Jan

Ghirahim watched on as the large goron stead-fast rolled away from the fuming demon. "If I ever encounter one of those rock-creatures again, I'll tear them limb from limb." he muttered as he stabbed his sword into the wall.

The demon had made it just in time to watch the massive creature break free from the restraints and flee. 'The goron didn't even seem to WANT anything! he just interrupted me for no reason other than to irritate! ' Ghirahim ran his fingers over his lips and recalled how Link had gripped onto his waist during the kiss.  
His little trip into an exciting memory was interrupted, however, when he heard a loud screech from one of his guards on the other side of the area surrounding the volcano. He tilted his head and teleported in the direction of the screech.  
When he re-appeared, a bokoblin guard ran into his legs and fell backwards. When the little thing looked up and saw who it had run into, It screamed and cowered in a tiny little ball, shaking and crying furiously. Ghirahim frowned at it and wondered why it was acting so strangely.  
When it hit him, his eyes widened and he teleported into Link's cell.

empty.

The demon looked down and saw a hole in the ground inside the cell and another just outside of it. He grabbed onto the bars, bending the metal to the side and stepping through. he summoned his daggers and stomped towards the temple, the ground seemed to be crumbling beneath his feet. All his minions scattered and ran away from the mass of rage as fast as they could.  
"He's escaped! THEY LET HIM ESCAPE! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He roared as he made his way up the mountain, furious, steam practically coming out of his ears.  
'the goron was a distraction. Was this his plan all along? Did he know about the ambush? Was the goron waiting for the right moment?.. Did Link seduce me? Try to make me think I was in _control_? I knew it. I _knew_ there was no way I would normally want a human!'

Ghirahim rambled to himself and made his way along, littering the trail with the chaos he caused in his wake. 'No matter.. I have a surprise for him in there.. I wonder what his opinion on ancient art is..' His face grew dark and a wicked smile crept along his lips. 'It's only a matter of _time_ now, Link'.

_.-.._.

Link leant up against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. The air in this part of the temple was so much worse than the other dungeon in this area. Sweat was almost pouring out of him. He wiped his brow and swallowed what little saliva he had left in his dry mouth.  
'gotta keep going, gotta get out of this goddess forsaken place' he huffed and peeled himself off of the wall.

Marching on through the temple, the heat was almost unbearable. He knew that if it weren't for the fire earrings, he'd be nothing but a lump of coal by now.  
He decided, rather then focusing on the temperature, he'd try to think of skyloft.  
Riding his loftwing through the picturesque, clear, blue skies. the wind whipping past his ears as he made his way along. That cool rush when diving into a free-floating cloud. How he missed that bird. He'd give anything to be able to cling onto a handful of those feathers and take off far, far away from here and all the troubles.

He shook his head. 'No. I have to stay. I can't think like that now, not after all I've been through. Have to get Zelda back. Have to keep moving'. While chanting 'Keep moving' in his head, he promised himself that when he'd return to his crimson friend, gliding around freely to his heart's content would be his first priority.

Link made his way through the grueling heat and waves of monster upon monster before he finally found the key to the final room. "Finally" he huffed, sliding the key into place and heaving the massive doors open. He stumbled into the room and heard the door close behind him. That familliar heat on his back returned and Fii started to beam from his sword. Fii's advice was unnecessary though, Link already knew how to fight this particular being.

That menacing chuckle resonated throughout the room and Ghirahim turned around slowly to greet Link, "oh, hello there Link. I see you're still among the living. Fancy meting you here." The knowing smile plastered across his lips made Link want to cut them off. "We seem to '_bump_' into one another time and time again. Oh, it's no coincidence though, is it? You and I are bound by a thread of fate." Ghirahim smoothly brought his hand around and flicked his hair out of his face. "look at these old carvings, Link!" he spread his arms out wide.

Link looked up to the wall behind Ghirahim and saw carvings of the goddess and what appeared to be two temples. "Untill I found these, I was a little upset about that little stunt the goddess' guard dog pulled at the gate of time. What was that twig's name again? Impa?" Link looked over the images.  
"Well never mind that, because these drawings are how I know of the existence of a second gate of time! The news just filled my heart with _rainbows_, as you know! I get ever so giddy at good news!" Ghirahim flicked his hair to the side again. Link glared furiously at Ghirahim. 'he's acting like he never captured me at all.. Or that he never.. UGH I want to KILL him!' he drew his sword as he ranted on mentally.

"I've been a busy boy searching here there and everywhere for the second gate of time! No assistance from you, of course.." He raised his hands up and shrugged. Link opened his mouth and Ghirahim disappeared. Link looked around the room panting slightly.  
He looked over and saw him kneeling off in the other corner of the room, "and yet, I couldn't find a single clue! since I know I can be honest with you, I got a little sulky. Frowns all around. And I started to get a little demanding.. maybe even a tad.. possessive" He glanced over to Link and licked his lips. Link blushed and gripped tighter onto his sword.

The demon disappeared again and Link searched around the room, finding him perched higher up on the wall. The demon crossed his arms over his chest and sighed sadly, "the thought of never getting my hands on that darling young girl again was.. well, more than i could bare." he sulked off to the side. Link rolled his eyes.

"But then.." Ghirahim threw his arms out and leapt towards Link, landing in front of him then sliding behind him and up his back. The demon slid his hands over Link's shoulders and whispered into his ear, sending chills up his spine and leaving him frozen in place, "...I found this place!". The demon pressed himself against Link's back and hovered his lips just over the tip of Link's ear, "The prospect of a second gate of time made me positively giggly! I of course had to share the news with you by inviting you to my little caves at the bottom of the mountain!" Link growled and swung his sword backwards at the demon, missing as Ghirahim disappeared. He turned around again to see the demon land daintily on the opposite side of the room. He threw his arms out wide, "that girl, your friend.. she will be _instrumental_ in bringing about the revival of my master! and though I once feared she was now far beyond my reach, I despair no longer!" Ghirahim lowered his arms and stepped towards Link. "But before we talk any further on that subject, there's still the outstanding matter of your punishment, Link. Do you remember our encounter at the temple of time? when I told you that I'd deafen you with the sounds of your own screams?" he raised his arm and played with his fingers. "well... as you well know.. I think that perhaps corporal punishment is a touch harsh. And my offer to forgive and forget still stands..." Ghirahim moved his hand to reach out and offer it to Link. "All I've ever asked is that you tell me where I might find the second gate of time. It's hardly too much to ask. I know you've been playing coy, maybe even avoiding the question, but we both know you are aware of it's whereabouts. why not let me in on the fun, hmm?"

Link straightened his back and fell into a battle stance once more. Ghirahim lowered his arm and sighed. "This behaviour you've been constantly showing me, and after I've offered you nothing but hospitality.. Such a naughty, mischievous boy like you needs to be dealt with firmly. I must warn you, This time I will not go easy on you." he laughed, his coat starting to float in non-existent wind before disappearing. Ghirahim raised his arms and his gloves then disappeared in a flurry of diamonds as well, revealing black arms and hands that seemed to shimmer.

"lovely aren't they? you'll find the supple skin of my arms tougher than any armour! Doesn't their shape just leave you.. breathless?" he giggled. Ghirahim let out a slow moan and he drew his hand back and ran his fingers through his hair. he flicked his other arm out, "behold! Such beauty! Such a pure form! Such a exquisite physique! Such stunning features! Yes, I know what you're thinking; he's got it all. though there seems to be one thing I lack..." Ghirahim slid his hand ever so slowly down his chest before flinging both arms out to the side, "namely mercy!" He said and that snake-like tongue slipped out of his mouth and flicked towards Link. "come to me, Link. you and I are bound by a thread of fate. It seems obvious by your actions that we were destined to fight, not converse! So come close, Link! meet me in battle and the thread that binds us will be soaked crimson with your blood!" he said as he laughed maniacally. And with that, battle between the two commenced. Ghirahim summoned four daggers and sent them flying towards Link, to which he leapt out of the way. He brought his sword up, and as more daggers were summoned and flung towards him, he sliced between them, cutting along Ghirahim's knuckles. The demon lord teleported backwards and summoned a huge circle of daggers. Link's eyes widened and he held up his shield as the demon flung line after line of them at him. Ghirahim laughed and summoned two black swords, running his tongue along the blade as he made his way towards Link. Link took a swing at the demon, only to have his sword knocked out of the way and to have the two blades come crashing down on him. Luckily Link managed to get his shield up in time and rolled out of the way of a second strike. the demon growled at Link's persistence to flee and jumped forward swinging his blades out wide. Link raised his shield but was knocked back by the force of the blade. As he stood back up, a ring of daggers appeared around him. Link swung his sword around in a circle and knocked them all away, only to have Ghirahim send his blades down on him again, this time making contact with his shoulder. Link exclaimed and rolled away. Ghirahim ran his long tongue up the blade, licking up Link's blood and moaning with delight at the taste of the fresh, red liquid. Link held onto his shoulder and grimaced at the action. The demon smiled and chuckled before sending more daggers flying at him.  
Link dodged the the garage and decided on a head-on attack.  
Running straight for the demon, shield held high to defend his wounded shoulder, he aimed right for Ghirahim's shoulder. To even the score, as it were.  
Link swung his blade up and cried out fiercely before plunging it down on, what he thought was, a perplexed Ghirahim.

A long, black, slender hand gracefully swept up, and with two fingers, took hold of Link's powerful blade. The force of the swing not even causing them to flinch. Link's eyes widened. His attack was halted so easily, yet he was sure he'd put every ounce of his strength into it. 'What is this creature made out of? even rock is chipped when you hit it!'  
Ghirahim's face was plastered with an unbearably smug grin as he lent over and slowly licked Link's sword.  
Link snapped out of his bewildered state, let out an exasperated yell and yanked at his sword. "L-let go!"  
Ghirahim finally gave in and a burst of laughter erupted from him, before he merely flicked his hand to the side, freeing Link from his sword and sending him crashing to the floor. "better get up quick, I'm not done playing with my.. toy.. or whatever you like to call yourself" He tossed Link's sword back behind the little hero and chuckled.

Link tumbled himself backwards and gripped onto his sword tightly. 'asshole. Twisting my words..'. Link at this point was irritated beyond belief and he opted for a new strategy; 'keep 'em coming'  
He stood up tall and rolled his good shoulder before extending his hand to the demon, and flicking his fingers towards himself. "come and get me, you prick" he whispered.

Ghirahim's face was beaming with giddy delight. He swirled his leg out in front of him and ever-so-softly placed down his toes, like a ballerina. He brought his hand up to his face, whipped his tongue out and licked the tip of his finger. Link grimaced, 'I said come get me, not feel free to start licking yourself.' he thought as he recalled how the remits back on sky loft would daintily lick themselves clean.  
Bringing Link back from his memories was a loud click emanating from the demons hand he had so suddenly flicked out to the side. In half a second rows and rows of daggers appeared in front of him, before the demon sent them all hurling towards the young hero.

Link barely managed to send them all flying away from him before the demon disappeared again. Link looked around frantically before Ghirahim came crashing down on him from above. Link managed to just move out of the way by stumbling over and landing on his back. The demon leant down to his face and flicked his tongue at Link. The teen then whipped his sword over and cut right along the demon's face, causing the demon lord to cry out in pain. Ghirahim stumbled back and took hold of his face. "...enough of this foolishness..." he growled, "I am Ghirahim, demon lord!". Ghirahim let go of his face and pointed to Link, revealing a large black cut where Link had landed the blow. "It shouldn't matter how powerful your sword is, you are still nothing... Not just a human, a human child! And yet you prevail! You filthy scamp! You have awakened a wrath that will burn for eons! I swear to you, whatever it takes, I will drag you into an eternity of torment!" Ghirahim's face was dark and Link could have sworn he saw a black aura emanating from him. Regaining his composure almost immediately, Ghirahim laughed and flung his hand out to the side. Circling his blade in front of him, he then vanished in an array of diamonds.  
The room grew brighter and Link sighed. The reality of his wounds hit him immediately and he fell to his knees. Though he managed to get through the temple, it was not unscathed. Link knew he was badly hurt, and decided to return to skyloft immediately after he'd done what he needed to do. 'thank the goddess Ghirahim gave up easily..'


	9. Chapter 9 - Patient

The curves and ridges on the roof of the academy were illuminated by the last light of the sun as it slowly sank down below the cloud barrier.  
Pipit sighed and rubbed his eyes.  
Every afternoon to evening, he'd been sitting on top of the roof looking out over the sea of clouds for any sign that his friend was coming back.

"It's almost time to go on patrol.." He reminded himself.  
The young knight stood and brushed off the back of his Mustard-coloured uniform before moving to descend. One final glance over his shoulder had him realize it would be yet another day that Link wouldn't return.  
He straightened his hat then skillfully climbed, hung and jumped off from the top of the building to the lower levels of the roof, eventually landing precisely at the ground floor doors of the school.

A faint and high-pitched whistle cut through the evening air.

Pipit turned and steadfast walked over to the front gates, looking out towards the barrier. He waited for the moments to pass.  
The massive crimson loftwing then shot up from below skyloft and flew up above the academy.  
Pipit released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and ran over to where the Green-clad teen was descending. A huge goofy-looking grin of relief plastered across his face.  
Link landed on the ground with a thud and seemed to stumble a bit before he regained his footing. He was hunched over, and his breathing seemed strained.

"Link!" Pipit called as he jogged towards him.  
Link turned his head towards Pipit and smiled a weak grin. "Hey, Pip.."  
"wh.. you look like shit" Pipit stated bluntly, the words slipping out of his mouth before he could stop them. Link chuckled pathetically. "makes sense. I kinda feel like it too." Link took a few steps towards Pipit and held out an empty glass bottle. "do'us a favour? can you fill this back up with red potion? I'm gonna go have a bath"

Pipit took the bottle from Link and studied him. He was clutching his side slightly, his shoulder was hanging almost limp and he was covered almost head to toe in a fine coating of.. soot? 'where in the world has he been?'

"Link, let me see." Pipit placed the bottle on the ground and moved towards him.  
"No, I'm fine. I just need to get clean." Link raised his hand in an effort to stop Pipit's attempts at looking him over. "Don't be stupid. You're hurt, let me see."  
"No, I said don't. Just.. leave me be, okay?" Link hobbled over to the doors of the academy and slipped inside before Pipit could say anything.  
The young knight paused and looked at the door for a few moments before he bent down, picked up the bottle, and walked off towards the bazaar. Hopefully Luv would still be there to give him some potion.

-.-._ _.-

Ghirahim scratched at the pale porcelean skin that was peeling away. The dark perfection of his true form showing more and more of itself as time passed.  
Twirling a dagger around in his other hand, he growled.

"How am I to eliminate him? how am I to find out where the second gate of time is? The spirit maiden's presence is all but vanished from _everywhere_. I have no way of finding her. He is the only lead I have and he is so unwilling to cooperate."

Ghirahim stood and started pacing back and forth over the grass. The moonlight illuminated the grass and the trees. Each individual blade of grass, each leaf on the trees and each branch reaching out, was painted in the ghostly paleness. Ghirahim had come here to relax his mind.  
It didn't do much.

"Why does he not comply with what I want? I am intimidating enough! he should be bowing at my feet! almost begging for me to merely LOOK at him." Ghirahim brought his hand up to his face and traced his fingers over his lips.

"he is softer than I. weaker. He relies on me letting my guard down in order for any of his petty attacks to make contact with my outstandingly beautiful face."

Ghirahim, continuing to pace back and forth, recalled Link's wanting to take hold of him. He had to hero _wanting_ him. reaching out for more of him. This of course was to be expected. "who wouldn't want to touch me. I mean, look at me" Ghirahim paused his pacing, smiled and flicked his hair out of his face. "I had thought the great hero of the goddess to be more.. _pure_hearted. This human's mind is clearly.. corrupted" Ghirahim chuckled. Was it _he_ who corrupted the hero? His mere perfect form _alone_ was enough to entice and sully the reputation of this 'oh so pure of heart' hero? How marvellous.

Then again.  
"He's invaded my thoughts as well.. An invasion that is showing no sign of stopping." Ghirahim resumed his pacing and bit down on his finger. 'the only thing left is to render him utterly defenseless. And the only way to do that is to strip him of his equipment and.. perhaps..'  
Ghirahim stopped mid-step and pounded his fist into his other hand.  
"I must get the information I want out of him through means of torture! then kill him immediately after, so as to not let his form invade my mind!" Ghirahim let a sinister grin tug at his lips and chuckled. "It wont be long now."

-..-_-

Pipit climbed up the stairwell of the academy, full bottle of potion tucked into his belt.  
'If it weren't for Luv's baby crying I would have had to explain why I couldn't wait 'till tomorrow for this.' He thought to himself as he walked up to the door of the bathroom. The familiar smell of steam from the bath filled the air. Link obviously wasn't going to wait for anything. Pipit didn't really blame him. He was filthy. "Link, I got your potion" He called through the door.

no answer.

"Link?" Pipit called again. After a few moments of silence he decided to see if anyone was actually in there or if the bath had just been left running.  
"uh.. I'm coming in." Pipit opened the door slowly and crept into the room. To the side were a pair of boots accompanied by multiple adventure packs. He glanced further around the room to find items of armour and clothing strewn about. "Link?"

"Oh, there you are Pip.."  
In the corner, leant up against the wall, Link sat almost naked clutching his side. "you... got the potion.. good" He panted.  
"What the-! Link, you- you're-!" Pipit practically leaped over to Link when he saw the burns and cuts that decorated Link's poor, defeated form. He yanked the red potion out of his belt and tugged the cork out with his teeth. "Drink it quick, Link!"

Link took the bottle and chugged the potion down. "Thank you.." he hung his head and placed the bottle beside him.

Pipit just sat there and watched Link's breaths go from shallow huffs to deeper more steady ones. He reached out and hovered his hand over a large and nasty burn on his leg. "You're going to need cream for all of this.. and more potion.." Link looked up at him through the golden tresses that dangled in front of his eyes. "Don't worry. I'll go get everything for you. I'll help you get clean and mended" Pipit stood and sped out of the bathroom aiming for the infirmary.

-_..- -._

A short time passed and Link could hear the familiar footsteps returning. 'Somehow I knew he'd know exactly where to go'. The door opened again and Pipit walked quickly over to Link. "okay, I'm going to disinfect the cuts on you, then I'll apply the cream to the burns and bandage them up" He looked into Link's eyes, obviously waiting for him to give the knight permission to touch him.

Link nodded, "shouldn't we move to somewhere.. else?" He asked.  
"Ideally yeah, but I don't want to risk anything. You only walked up here before you collapsed so I'll assume walking isn't going to help much. I'll patch you up then we'll work on getting you to your room" Pipit stated as he ripped open packets of this, that and the other.

Link nodded and tried to move his body around as much as he could so Pipit could get at his wounds. He watched as Pipit took complete controll of the situation, even down to telling Link when and where to move his body. It was nice having someone else take control of the problem for once.

"How many times have you had to treat burns, Pipit?" Link asked. "A few.. Fledge used to help out the cook in the kitchen more. But after he got too many burns, she made him stick with simply moving things around."  
"ah, I see." Link smiled at the image.  
"It's good to see you smiling.. after such a long time" Pipit said as he motioned for Link to turn himself around. "I wasn't gone for that long, was I?" Link leant forward and turned around so Pipit to treat his back. "it felt like a long time.." The brunette almost whispered.  
"That's because you wait for me every day. Stop waiting and it wont feel like it's been so long" Link laughed and could almost hear the blush creeping onto Pipit's face. "I just.. I just like it better when I know where you are. You didn't tell me where you were going last time. You just left" Pipit's touch seemed to slow as he gently applied the cream to Link's skin. "I'm sorry. I wanted to leave before anything could distract me. I needed to get going and I knew that if I stayed to talk with anyone, I'd never leave" he chuckled.  
"just tell me next time.."  
"I will."

After a while, Pipit had managed to do a fairly standard patch-job. Enough to last until the morning when they could see the doctor.  
Link looked around his body at the patches and bandages that covered up quite a bit of his body. "there were more than I thought there were" he stated.  
"yeah, well next time I tell you to show me your wounds, just do it. Don't get all huffy with me. This all could have been resolved sooner had you just done as I asked." Pipit folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at Link.

"Yes, Oh great and all-knowing Pipit! I shall never again question your wisdom!" Link waved his uninjured arm around theatrically.  
"yeah, yeah shut up. Is there anything else, you need?"  
"You can walk me to my room?"  
"okay."  
The two then stood and made their way down the Link's bedroom, Pippit holding his hands out ready the entire time, making sure he was ready to catch the other, should he fall. Link smiled and shook his head every time Pippit reached out his hands a little when he wobbled a tad more than usual. Link was already feeling much better thanks to the red potion and Pippit's patch job. He felt fine enough to walk on his own, but he knew the older knight would never let it go without the doctor's sign of approval.

-..-_-

Pipit watched as Link hobbled over to his bed and sat down slowly. "Oh man, this is better than anything I've slept on so far." he sighed before slowly lowering himself back onto the bed.  
"Where have you been sleeping?" Pipit asked as he strolled over to Link.  
"The ground. The cold, hard ground." Link chuckled and pet the bed beside him.

The young knight sat down on the bed and slowly layed himself down next to Link.  
"you didn't even take anything with you to sleep on?"  
"Have you seen all the crap I take with me? I don't have room for anything else."  
"oh.."

Link sighed and silence filled the room.  
Pipit fidgeted and played with his hand braces. The sound of buckles clinking almost echoed around the room.  
"what's wrong?" Link finally broke through the silence.  
"Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something was wrong?"

The smaller male raised himself onto his elbows with a groan and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "We've been laying here for a while and you haven't tried to give me a lecture, something must be terribly wrong" A sly smile crept along his lips.

"I just don't know what to say."  
"who are you and what have you done with my Pipit?"  
Pipit heart skipped and he let out a short chuckle, "_your_ Pipit, huh?".  
"yeah, _my_ Pipit. Who else are you supposed to belong to? _Fledge_?"  
"Can't I just own myself?"  
"no, not allowed. I own you now. There's nothing you can do about it. You cost about.. 20 rupees? maybe 30 if I don't like the person I'm selling you to."  
The two of them looked at each other skeptically before laughing. Pipit reached out and placed his hand on Link's chest, forcing the blonde to lay himself back down.  
"Lay down and rest, Link."

"You're the one who should be resting. How much sleep do you even get? You work all night right? Then you go to school all day."  
Pipit turned his face away and mumbled.

Pipit had infact been getting next to no sleep at all over the past few months. Between working, studying and scowering the clouds for a mop of golden hair, he hadn't seen the need for it. That or the insomnea was getting worse.  
Link wasn't the first person to notice Pipit's lack of sleep, though. Mallara and Gaepora often warned him that he needed more rest. How could he sleep though? Every moment of the day his head was filled with thoughts of Link. Worrying about that Blonde _twit_ was the only thing he seemed capable of.

Pipit sighed and brought his arm up and over his eyes.

-.-._

Link looked over at his friend. A look of consern adorning his brow. 'He looks so tired and warn out. He needs to take a break'  
"Have tonight off." Link almost decided for him that he'd have a rest. Whether he wanted it or not.

Pipit lifted his arm off his eyes and looked over to Link. Immediately meeting the brilliant blue in the other's eyes he knew he couldn't escape from. "What?"  
"Don't go to work. Get Fledge or Cawlin to cover your shift."  
"I can't do that I'm already supposed to be out there." Pipit moved to sit up but Link whipped his hand out and held him gently to the bed.  
"Fledge needs the money. _Trust me_. He's got a new.. 'work-out regime' and he needs some extra cash to keep it going" Link flicked his thoughts back to when the awkward teen came to him for help and Link had given the strength potion to him. It wasn't cheap.

Pipit chuckled and shook his head "he's not getting strength potion involved is he?"  
"He may be" Link laughed, "and if he doesn't want to then I'm sure Cawlin would be up for some extra cash. Maybe he can get some chocolate for Karane or something."  
"Him and Karane would be a weird pair"  
"Considering she's just about ready to force you to the ground and have her way with you, that's not a bad statement"

The yellow-clad teen chocked and covered his mouth at Link's blunt words. "Link!"  
"what?" he chuckled, "everyone knows she's been pining for you almost forever"  
Pipit pinched the bridge of his nose, "that's.."  
"You're not interested in her though. I know, I know."  
Pipit glanced over to Link, his cheeks growing pinker with every second.

"Of course.. now I know _why_ you never were.."  
"mm.."  
"You wouldn't prefer a cute girl like Karane over me?"  
"wha- I.." Pipit looked away and fidgeted with his hands again, "no.."  
"didn't think so". Link hadn't meant to make him feel awkward. It was pretty funny though.

"So are you going to go on your patroll?"  
"yes." Pipit sat up, ready to get off the bed, before Link took hold of his shoulder and dragged him back down.  
"Link.. Let me leave. If I don't-"  
"Stay, Pip. If not for yourself, then for me."  
Link could see he had him cornered. His eyes widened slightly and he froze in place. The inner battle with himself had begun.  
The Blonde smiled and sat up.

"I'll go ask Fledge to do your rounds. I'm sure he'd be up to a little work-out" Link stood up slowly and wandered over to the door, "Stay put. You leave and you'll be in trouble." he continued before walking out the door, headed for Fledge's room.


	10. Chapter 10 - Interlude

Pipit lay there, frozen in place. 'He wants me to stay, so I should stay. But what about my job? Can I really afford to skip out one night's pay? Link's been giving me rupees every time he comes here though. But I can't ask him for it. Or can I? He's the one that's forcing me to stay.. not that I couldn't leave if I wanted to of course. Which means that I really do want to stay..' "hmm.."

Pipit sat up and took off his hat before rubbing his eyes. "it can't be helped. I'm powerless to resist.." He ran his fingers down his face and tugged on the skin as he went down. "I'm such a moron.." he sighed and stood up as he started to remove his armour.

The brunette glanced around the small, simple room and admired how clean it was. "that could be because he's never here though..". He knelt down and removed his boots before tossing them next to Link's desk.

Getting back on his feet, he wandered around the room, picking up a woodcarving of a loftwing as he went around. 'can't imagine he'll be making anymore of these any time soon'.

The room was so calm. It was just a room like any other in the academy. But this one was special, because this one was Link's.

His smell was everywhere. It was a dirty-sweet smell, like some sort of plant. Grass maybe. Pipit had come to associate it with the feeling of home. After all, Link was as close as family. And one way or another, Pipit was going to make sure that Link would always remain a part of his make-shift family.

The door opened quietly and Link slipped back through. Pipit returned the carving to the desk where he got it from and looked over to Link.

"so, am I under house arrest?"

Link smiled a large accomplished grin and nodded. "You sure are, Pip. Now lay your stupid ass down on the bed"

"stupid ass?"

"yeah, stupid. Stupid as in 'wastes all day sitting on the roof waiting for a certain someone to come popping up through the clouds'" Link folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at the other.

"oh.. so uh.. so fledge told you what I've been up to huh? Very kind of him, I'll be sure to thank him for that." Pipit slid awkwardly over to the bed and slunk down onto it, avoiding eye contact with the other at all costs.

"you're a twit. For one thing, why the roof? You'd get just as good'a view from the plaza. And while you were sitting up there like a puppy waiting for it's master to come home, you could have been napping. Don't you like sleep?"

"I thought I was the one that lectured you?"

"the tables have turned it seems."

Pipit sighed and hung his head, "I sit on the roof because no one can see me waiting for you up there and that way no one questions what I'm doing. As for the waiting for you in general.. I can't get any sleep anyway.. so I might as well.."

"you could at least try and get some rest.." Link hobbled back over to the bed and crawled behind the other, laying himself length-wise along the bed and letting out a long groan of relief.

Pipit watched him as he went, "I tried.. It doesn't work. I just can't stop thinking."

"what do you think about?" Link took hold of the other's shoulder and motioned for him to lay beside him, to which he obliged.

"just.. stuff. How much I'll have to spend on food, how little my mother does around the house, what manner of monster you might be facing, what time I have to be ready for my next shift, when you'll be returning, whether my uniform is clean, What I'd like to say to you next time we meet.. just stupid things like that" Pipit said as he rubbed his eyes.

"I cross your mind a lot huh?" Link asked.

"..maybe too much."

"well it's nice to know someone's thinking about me, anyway"

"definitely too much.."

"not enough to come to a decision though"

"what?"

"nothing."

Pipit looked over to Link who was already falling asleep. "I think the last time I slept through the night was when you stayed at my house."

"really?"

"mm.."

"well then" Link interrupted himself with a long drawn-out yawn, "You'll just have to sleep with me every time I come home" he continued.

"sleep wi-.. what?"

"shut up and go to sleep" Link gently slapped Pipit's cheek before closing his eyes, letting another jaw-breaking yawn break free.

"Ah. Yep, that's gonna help me sleep. A nice slap in the face always gets me relaxed" Pipit mused. He looked over to Link for a reaction, but it was clear the blonde was already off in dream-land.

He sighed.

Staring up at the ceiling, Pipit listened to the slowing, steady breaths of the other. Link was in such bad shape. He wasn't surprised the little hero could go to sleep immediately after all he'd been through.

The freckled young man gazed over the other's face and slowly began to curl up beside him. 'damn it. I feel so stupid. I never used to be so nervous around him. But, now that he knows.. it just can't ever feel the same'.

Pipit reached up and ran his fingers over some of Links hair that had spread itself out on the pillow. He screwed his face up and cringed at his actions, 'I'm acting like a love-sick twit. This is something I'd expect Cawlin to do.. eugh.. I feel stupid' and he halted his actions.

Pipit placed his hand on Link's chest and slid down the pillow until his head was low enough to rest lightly on Link's shoulder. This of course made him cringe more. 'Stop doing things that make you feel stupid and maybe then you'll actually get some sleep' He knew his face would be roughly the same shade as Link's loftwing and mentally slapped himself.

Though he continued to have a constant internal battle with himself about how he was acting like a 'school girl with a crush', his eyelids grew heavier and the mattress seemed softer with every passing moment.

And after a few times shifting away from then back to the other, he found himself wrapped around Link's arm and drifting off to the land of dreams.

-.-_..

'The way the light dances across the yellow in your uniform, captivates me. It is like the sun that graces us with life and warmth each day. The freckles adorning your beautiful face are like the birds that fly beneath the sun-'

"no, no.." the scrunching of a heart-felt letter was heard before it clunked to the bottom of a waste bin, accompanied by several other cumpled up pieces of paper.

'Everytime I see you my heart stops. Your beauty can only be compared to that of the goddess. For surely you must be blessed by her grace. Your caring heart and kind ways touch all those around you, but I wish you would have those caring eyes fixated on me inste-'

"ugh! No!" Yet another scrunch and clunk of paper.

'Hey baby! nice legs, I bet they'd look better wrapped around my waist'

Cawlin smashed his face into the desk infront of him and let out a long groan of disapproval.

For a few hours now, the short boy had decided to try and re-create his love letter of perfection that Link 'lost'. He was failing.

"Why did I ever trust that weirdo to deliver it to her. This is what I get for not being man enough to do it myself!" Cawlin scolded himself.

"then again I wouldn't have to write it again if that stupid, no good, worthless, nerd Link didn't-"

Thinking back, he recalled every detail of when Link told him the news of his failure.

The prematurely promoted, green-clad knight strolled over to Cawlin, fiddling with his hand braces. Cawlin looked around the hall for any sign of Karane, his love. "So? how'd it go?" he asked.

"uh.." Link reached up and scratched the back of his head like the bafoon he is, "I couldn't do it."

"what? what do you mean you couldn't do it?"

"well.. I sorta.. dropped it in the toilet.."

Cawlin's mouth dropped and the world seem to go dark. If he wasn't sure he was hearing things, he could sware he heard the sound of a small violin playing somewhere off in the distance.

"Sorry, man. Total accident! Oh well you can just write another one" The insensitive oaf then slapped him lightly on the back before waddling out of the academy.

Cawlin rolled his face over on the desk and looked off to the side around Groo- His room and sighed. "Why, Karane..? Why did you not get to read the true words of my heart?"

He spotted Groose's old punching bag off to the side of the room that had a crudely drawn picture of Link taped to it. he glowered at it, stood up and marched over before delivering the mightiest punch he could muster right to the middle of the drawing's face, "I'll get revenge for him stealing your opportunity to know my words of love, Karane. Don't worry." Cawlin made his way over to the desk, scrunched up the vulgar letter he had just written and threw it in the bin before strolling off to get some sleep.

-_-...-_

Link smiled and clung tightly onto his bird's feathers as the giant aviary looped around a floating boulder. 'this is the life. I never knew what I had'

Early that morning, Link had managed to pry a certain knight from his arm and slip out of his room without waking the other. He then heard a big clunk coming from the classroom.

He walked over and stood in the doorway.

"Damn it! It's not here either. where did I.. AH! there it is!". Link had stumbled across a short, blue haired boy rummaging through viles and bottles filled with various liquids. "Cawlin?" he called.

The stubby boy spun around clutching a potion to his chest, "Oh! It's you! uh.. I mean.. Hey."

"Hey..?"

"I have something for you! It's a new and improved health tonic! I made it myself! You of course know that I'm at the top of our potions class!"

"Uh.. right" Link had absolutely no recolection of Cawlin being top of the class. He never really payed attention to who had the highest scores. He just assumed it was Zelda.

"Yeah, so as a thank you for helping me with that letter even though you didn't have to and for everything else you've been doing for everyone, I thought I should give you something you could use. This potion works three times faster than the regular one at luv's shop. I plan to be a potions master with my own store when I get older so.."

"thought you wanted to be a knight"

"Gotta keep your options open, now take this and get out" Cawlin shoved the potion that had a slightly pink-ish hue into Link's hands before running off.

"oh..kay..?" Link watched as Cawlin disappeared up the stairs. 'thanking me for help with the letter? Don't tell me he actually believes I dropped it in the toilet by accident..' Link thought to himself as he tucked the potion into his pack and made his way towards the door. 'It's his own fault I gave it to the hand in the toilet. that's what he gets for being a collosal prig to me for all those years.'

The blonde looked down at the potion, releasing the tuft of feathers he had been clinging to, "fly steady, Red". The bird squarked and leveled out to fly straight. 'new and improved.. I'm not exactly hurt..'

Link looked at the bandages on his arm, remembering how nice it was to have someone taking care of him for once.

'Maybe I'm a little hurt. but I'm fine enough to fly so..'

Cawlin had seemed honest enough when he gave Link the potion. He figured he'd keep it for when he really needed it, deciding that maybe Cawlin, like Groose, could change his ways.

_-_..-._

"Cawlin!" The short knight in training halted in place and his shoulders tensed up when he heard his name being called. He turned his head slowly around to see Horwell marching towards him. "Cawlin, the potion you made in class yesterday, have you seen it?"

"uh.. no, sir.."

"curses. I had hoped to dispose of it as fast as I could"

"It's just a health potion gone wrong, how bad could it be?"

"Cawlin, you don't understand. It wasn't a 'health potion gone wrong' you definitely made a working potion. If it were only a failed potion it would be fine, you'd just get a bit of a stommach ache, but the one you made is actually a powerful potion. One who's recipe has been illegal to recreate!"

"wha.. What the heck is it?"

"It's a.. uh.." Horwell scratched his chin and looked off to the side. "let's just say it's.. a.. convincing potion. In the wrong hands it could be very dangerous."

"convincing?"

"just make sure you don't have it somewhere you forgot about. I'm going to go look for it" Horwell then jogged off to the classroom.

"Goddess, here I thought I was bad at potions.." Cawlin looked over to the door. "well.. he didn't say it was life threatening.. he should be fine" The stubby young knight then walked off to his room.


	11. Chapter 11 - There's something there

The demon lord paced back and forth along the dusty, filthy, dirty, white-ruining ground and glowered at nothing in particular.

"where is he? where is that fool? How long must I wait for him to show himself? surely this is where he would journey to next? of course it is. This desert holds wonders untold and surely he requires them. So where is he? Why isn't he here? He is trying my patience without being aware of it!" Ghirahim mumbled to himself.

A bokoblin trotted up to the fabulously gorgeous demon and squealed at him. "What? what is it? can't you see I'm having a very important meeting.. w-with myself" Ghirahim coughed, straightened himself up and dusted off his shoulder. "tell me what you want before I murder you".

The little creature screeched and yelped at Ghirahim and pointed up to the sky. "I see, so he's coming is he? and how do you know this for sure, you minuscule cretin?" the demon rolled his eyes.  
The Bokoblin merely responded in much the same way as before. "So a Goron showed itself and that means he's coming, does it? He controls all the races on the surface does he? GET OUT OF HERE AND GO KILL THE GORON" Ghirahim kicked the vile little thing away and went back to his pacing.

"This must go perfectly. He's gaining too much ground and is clearly becoming much too powerful. Quick and simple. That's what it needs to be. No mistakes" Ghirahim rambled on, his arms folded tightly across his chest. The stress, excitement and anticipation making him shiver.  
"..I should make sure they eliminate that grotesque creature before the 'hero' arrives" Ghirahim stood up straight and marched off in the direction the bokoblin fled to.

Only to round a corner and trip over something large, round and blue.

"wha- what's... oh no.." With-in the span of a few seconds the bombflower exploded, igniting the mass amount of other bomb flowers and simultaneously blowing up the entirety of the section he was in. The blasts threw him around the room slamming him ungracefully against the walls. The walls and ceiling of the cave crumbled around him. Crushing his beautiful form under the weight of the rocks and boulders that came crashing down, rendering Ghirahim unconscious and in less-than-perfect condition for his plan.

-._-.-_

The familiar clunk of his armor as Link landed on the ground in Lanayru seemed to echo throughout the area. It was quiet.  
Too quiet.

Link drew his sword, expecting something to jump out at him at any second.  
But nothing came.  
The further along he went the more he came to realize there was positively no life anywhere in the section of caves he had wandered into. There was nothing. Not even one or two keese to distract him. The whole area had been cleared out.  
"..what's going on? where is everything? I should have been attacked by now surely.."

Link wandered further into the cave and noticed that quite a fair amount of the ceiling had collapsed and there was rock and rubble everywhere, including in front of the doorway to the next section of caves. 'that explains the lack of enemies..'  
He wandered over to the rocks blocking the entryway and tripped over something that was sticking out from the rubble.  
It was black, shinny and completely conspicuous in comparison to the light coloured rock that surrounded it.

Leaning in closer, he took hold of it and yanked it as hard as he could, causing a few large rocks to roll off of the pile.  
he leaned in closer and took in it's shape. "it looks like... a foot?"

One of the toes on the black object twitched as he said so, causing him to stumble backwards. "wh- it's a creature! and it's alive?!" Link hurried to getting more rocks off the creature, pulling at the larger rocks and shoving his sword in between others for leverage, rolling them off as well until he uncovered the being that lay beneath.

"Ghirahim?" Link took a step back and puffed as he stopped trying to free him. The demon had changed. his arms and legs were completely black, he was only pale around the top of his torso and face. but those too had cracks in them. Link lent in and wiped the dust from the demon lord's face. "what, you gave up and decided to end it by blowing yourself up? seems a little extreme but it is eccentric, which is your style." he sighed.

"nnh.. it.. stupid creature"

Link whipped his hand away from Ghirahim's face as he seemed to be regaining consciousness. "oh no, go back to sleep. shh.. no, I don't want to deal with you, shhh." Link ran his hand up and down Ghirahim's arm in an attempt to sooth the waking beast.

Ghirahim cracked his eyes open and tried to roll his shoulders, to which he only growled in pain. "ah.. by the will of-.. damn.."  
"Wonderful. So you're alive then?" Link sighed and hung his head.

Ghirahim's eyes opened wider and glanced up at Link. "you.. to what do I owe this pleasure..?" he sighed and tried to move more of his body.  
"well.. I think I just saved your ass. Completely unintentional, I assure you."  
"mm.. no.. impossible. You see, you want to kill me and I want to kill you. Why then, if you were in fact the hero, would you simply be talking with me and not disposing of me as we speak. I am not in any condition to fight back, you see." Ghirahim explained.  
"good to know." Link slapped Ghirahim's chest, gaining a groan of disapproval and turned around, plonking himself on a boulder. "You forget, demon, that I'm not you. I actually have a heart. and as good as getting rid of you sounds, I can't attack someone when they're defenseless."

"oh, how noble. Allow me to find some sort of reward for you when my health returns to me" Ghirahim quipped back, obviously riled about being so defenseless in his enemy's presence. "for what it's worth, I'll take that noble comment as a backhanded compliment" The demon let a lighthearted chuckle slip out before he groaned.

"So what did you have planned for me this time? strap me to a bombflower and blast me to the moon?" Link glanced back at Ghirahim. "Actually, I had planned on torturing you. Beating you until you told me every last thing I wanted you to say, before disposing of you of course."  
"of course"  
"but, one of your servants interrupted my plans and had my minions on edge."  
"so you marched off and walked into a bombflower patch?"

Ghirahim let out a surprised sound and turned his head away.  
"wow, I was right on the money huh? that's a little sad."  
"silence, human."

Link lent in and took hold of Ghirahim's hand before lifting him up to a sitting position. "I'm sure you had it all planned out."  
Ghirahim yelped in protest at the sudden movement before growling in utter disapproval.  
"I did indeed have every last detail of what I wanted to do to you mapped out in my mind."

"I don't want to know." Link stated as he dusted off some small rocks and dirt that littered Ghirahim's frame. "what are you doing?"  
"looking to see if you've got any serious injuries"  
"I see.. you needn't bother. my body is far more durable than that of your own"  
"I'm still going to make sure."  
"Insufferable. take my advice and leave, you incredulous thing."

"Can't you talk like a normal person?" Link asked, slightly irritated at the ungrateful demon. Ghirahim looked at Link and merely tilted his head in confusion. The hero sighed and went back to what he was doing.

-.._-.

Ghirahim watched on as Link lifted, poked and prodded around his aching body. He felt himself flinch multiple times at the soft, not entirely unwanted, touches. He decided to remain silent until the hero was sated in his mission for health. A handful of moments passed and Ghirahim closed his eyes. Listening to the subtle clinking of Link's armor as he moved around, his open-mouthed breathing as he went about. his scent drifted to him finally, and he sighed. the familiarity of the smell, while he knew it was attached to a creature that was surely torturing him intentionally by making himself appealing, put him at ease. for once.

"well you're clearly worse than I thought"  
"excuse me?"  
"You're not talking my ear off.."  
"mm.." Ghirhim tried rolling his neck, not yet wanting to open his eyes. "something troubling you, old friend?" Link asked sarcastically.

Ghirahim whipped his head around at Link, which he immediately regretted as he clung to his sore neck. "old friend? You are not my friend. We are barely acquaintances, let alone comrades"  
"oh come now, we've been through enough. what with you constantly trying to kill me, then show me affection, then trying to kill me again. If that's not friendship I don't know what is"  
"sarcastic is such an unflattering shade on you" Ghirahim responded before turning back around.

Behind him he heard the innocent chuckle that emanated from the green-clad individual. He smiled, and wished he could hear it again. "damn you, hero."  
"now we're back to hating each other.."  
"no. You are too irksome to hate"  
"this is where he stops making sense"

Ghirahim sighed and rolled forward, aiming to get up. Link sprung up and took hold of his hand to balance him, to which Ghirahim promptly whipped his hand away. Resulting in him falling on his side.  
The demon let out a muffled groan.

"don't be stupid, let me help you"  
"Why _are_ you helping me.."  
"because I want to"  
"that does'nt explain-"  
"for the same reason you kissed me, maybe?"

Ghirahim looked up at Link who had crouched down and turned his gaze away. "That was merely a momentary weakness to your charms. I refuse to fall for your trickery again"  
"trickery? you think I wanted you to kiss me?"  
"well of course, why wouldn't you? I mean, look at me" he chuckled.  
Link rolled his eyes and pulled the demon up to sit again. Ghirahims groan of pain interrupting his self-appreciation.

"you're so annoying"  
"as are you."  
"so have you changed your mind about torturing me?"  
"have you changed yours? are you going to tell me what I need to know?"  
"no."  
"then no."  
"ugh.. can't we agree to disagree?" Link sat back on the ground and stretched his legs out. Ghirahim watched the young man pinch his brow. he was clearly getting frustrated.

-_.-...

"Link.."  
He looked over to the demon, "does it feel weird when you call your enemy by their first name? how many times have you actually said my name anyway?" Link said as he raised an eyebrow. "a few times.." Ghirahim answered as he looked further away. "..what do you want?"  
Ghirahim grew quiet and covered his hand over his face, dragging it down in an exasperated gesture at his own stupidity.  
"you." was his muffled answer.

"..huh?"  
"every last inch of your being. I want it" he sighed.  
Link fidgeted and his face started to feel warm "I'm not exactly a thing you can claim.."  
"I have realized that. You would already be mine if that were so" Ghirahim said matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow. "I.. see.." Link began to feel very uncomfortable and opted to move away. His efforts were cut short, however, when Ghirahim reached out and took hold of his arm gently, "I want you Link, that means I want you to, at the very least, entertain my lapse in judgement a little and sit with me" he stated. "yeah, I gathered that. I don't really want to though" Link laid his hand over Ghirahim's. "why not?" Link pushed on Ghirahim's hand, but the grip only grew slightly tighter. he sighed. "because.. you're making me feel awkward.." he admitted. "awkward..?". Link pushed on the demon's hand again and rolled his eyes "yes"

"I want you."  
"Yes, okay, I know."  
"Be mine."  
"Don't be stupid."

"I am not." Ghirahim stood slowly, using Link's arm to balance himself. "aid me in reviving my master, then you and I can live together in the new world."  
"I.. " Link started to respond but every word he'd ever learnt in his life seemed to run screaming out of his memory like it was about to blow up. he just sat there speechless.  
This demon, this hinderance to his every move, this threat to his and everyone else's lives.. wanted to love him? no. he wanted to possess him. there's no way a demon could feel love for another being.. right?

Ghirahim's face showed next to no expression. It was stoney and weirdly serious. This demon was much different than the cackling, crazy Captain of the ss. Creep he met in the forrest temple. His blood lust seemed to have vanished. Right now, he seemed to be just a man. His strength gone, in a place unfamiliar, with only his enemy for protection.

"You're more complex than you lead on to be" he finally managed. Ghirahim scrunched up his face and tilted his head. "that.. isn't what I asked you".  
"I know, but.. what you asked is impossible. You and I come from different worlds. And I plan on keeping mine just the way it is. The way it should be.." Link stood and Ghirahim's hand slid off his arm, "..bathed in warmth and shimmering in the light" He smiled at what he knew was right. "I.. see.." Ghirahim looked at his hand.  
"I ,um.. I'm sorry." Link scratched the back of his neck. Ghirahim huffed and stood, dusting off his legs. "don't apologize to me, hero. I'm your enemy, remember?".

"right.." Link looked Ghirahim up and down, 'he recovers faster than I thought..'. The demon rolled his shoulder and lolled his head around. "as for now, hero, You may as well leave." he sighed. "leave? you aren't going to torture me? strap me to a bomb flower? hang me upside down from the ceiling?" Link folded his arms and raised a brow at the much taller demon. Ghirahim gave him a petulant look and swerved his hand out, "if you want me to, then please continue talking". Link raised his hands, "alright, alright. I'll take your act of good will and I'll be on my way." and with that he turned and moved to leave the cave.

"You know.." he paused, "you don't have to be the bad guy." Link glanced back to the demon. Ghirahim finally smiled kindly at him. Though his smile had sadness and defeat hidden behind it. He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Everywhere you step, that area is a little brighter. You carry the light around with you, Link." The demon ran his hand up his beautiful black arm, "You and I are and always will be exceedingly different." Ghirahim was almost whispering, as though he were actually talking to himself.

"And that means you have to play the villain?" Link's brow furrowed as he asked. He turned back to face the other, taking a step towards him.

"..yes" Ghirahim looked back to the hero and raised his hand towards Link, his face growing dark. "I have no way out of the tangled threat of my fate. It is wrapped around my being so tightly, I only now wonder how I never noticed it before." He lowered his hand, setting his shoulders back and standing up straight. "I belong to my master. His will is my own. there's no changing it." Link took a step back and watched Ghirahim's movements. "You wanted me to join you in your new world. Why can't you join me in mine instead?" Link eyed the demon's hand cautiously.

The demon lord smiled a kind and understanding smile. "We shall see how this dance of our blades plays out. For now, Link, be the hero your world needs. And I will go back to being the enemy you work so hard to vanquish. We are bound by fate, but.. not the way I had hoped." Ghirahim put his finger and thumb together, "Wait!", clicked and vanished in a flurry of diamonds. Link had raised his hand to try and stop the demon from leaving. He wanted an explanation, not someone telling him what to do, 'Pretty sure I get enough of that already'.

Link sighed and straightened his hat, "fine. I'll be the hero. but I refuse to give up on you." He promised the now empty cave. With that he marched off to find the Thunder Dragon.


End file.
